Online harassment of researchers and faculty members is increasingly common, and can seriously impact the psychological health and productivity of those who experience it. To address these personal and professional impacts, Canadian universities should provide robust and effective support to targeted individuals. Based on consultations with university staff and researchers, and reviews of institutional policies globally, we propose how to support researchers at individual institutions and nationally.
This work was supported by the Bridge Research Consortium.
Online harassment is an increasing risk as more communication and knowledge dissemination in post-secondary institutions occurs online. Technology-facilitated harassment includes doxing, threats of physical harm, cross-platform harassment, derogatory comments, and denigration of scientific work. These attacks are intended to intimidate researchers and discredit their work, creating a hostile work environment.
If universities want researchers to engage broader publics and conduct research freely, they need to provide organizational support and response mechanisms that ensure professional resilience. After highlighting our recommendations, this brief outlines the issues associated with online harassment and showcases a proposed framework to support researchers.
Report credits
Authors: Netheena Mathews, Chris Tenove, Heidi Tworek, Connor Guyn, Jaigris Hodson
Report design: Gladys We
Suggested citation: Mathews N, Tenove C, Tworek H, Guyn C, Hodson J. 2025. How Universities Can Better Address Online Harassment. Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions, University of British Columbia.
This work was supported by the Bridge Research Consortium, part of Canada’s Immuno-Engineering and Biomanufacturing Hub (CIEBH). The BRC is funded by the Canada Biomedical Research Fund and Biomedical Research Infrastructure Fund (CBRF-2023-00122), and BC Knowledge Development Fund (BRIF#500122).
Dr. Heidi Tworek acknowledges the support of the Canada Research Chair programme (CRC-2020-00132).