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FIRST WORD<br />
FROM THE<br />
EDITOR<br />
I have just spent the last two hours down a virtual<br />
rabbit hole of bile. It’s not a great place to linger<br />
on a Sunday morning, I can tell you. In said rabbit<br />
hole I have been called everything from “a selfish, silly cow”<br />
who has “legs like tree stumps” and whose “husband should<br />
leave her for a Thai bride” to someone responsible for<br />
“committing genocide on our nation!” (Some context: I had<br />
written two online articles: one about my decision not to<br />
have children, the second about how I had toned up using<br />
weights. So not the world’s most controversial journalism.)<br />
Maybe you’ve experienced something similar: this<br />
faceless, noxious bullying, designed to cause as much<br />
psychological damage to its victim as possible. We call the<br />
people who do this ‘trolls’. They sit in the murky shadows of<br />
the internet with names like Stickytape and Treebrain (two<br />
of my personal aggressors, I kid you not), waiting and<br />
plotting for someone, anyone, to take a swipe at, only to<br />
retreat back into the virtual darkness from which they came<br />
to watch their comments blow up like dynamite.<br />
I have spent many hours trying to track down the likes of<br />
Stickytape and Treebrain. But it is impossible. I have chased<br />
them through websites and tracked them down into dark,<br />
angry forums, only to be met with dead ends and silence.<br />
And this is the problem. To wound someone without any<br />
physical proximity is dangerous. Not only does it allow you<br />
to dehumanise the person you see only on a screen, but it is<br />
far easier to rest in denial about the impact of your actions.<br />
May I now suggest something: 25th <strong>November</strong> is the<br />
UN’s International Day For The Elimination Of Violence<br />
Against Women. (And, let’s be clear, online abuse constitutes<br />
a violation.) So I have an idea. Why don’t we all take just<br />
five minutes out of our day on 25th <strong>November</strong> to write<br />
something positive and uplifting in the comments of<br />
anything written by a woman. We’d love it if you could<br />
help us – because if we all shout loud enough, we can, at<br />
least for one day, drown out the toxic noise.<br />
FARRAH ST<br />
Edi<br />
Follow me on Twitter @Farrah_Storr and Instagram @farrahstorr<br />
Haveyoubeen<br />
avictim<br />
oftrolling?<br />
Research<br />
conducted by<br />
Hearst Empowering<br />
Women found that<br />
52% of women under<br />
35 have received abuse<br />
for expressing an<br />
opinion online, while<br />
45% aged 24 or under<br />
have received threats<br />
of violence. So what<br />
can you do? Go to<br />
Empowering.hearst.<br />
co.uk for our Trolling<br />
Toolkit, which has<br />
expert advice from<br />
the <strong>UK</strong> Safer Internet<br />
Centre, LGTB charity<br />
Stonewall, campaigner<br />
and <strong>Cosmopolitan</strong><br />
contributor Natasha<br />
Devon, and The Crown<br />
Prosecution Service.<br />
From how to take legal<br />
action to whether it’s<br />
best to block a troll<br />
or engage, you’ll find<br />
answers. It’s time to<br />
#ReclaimTheInternet.<br />
Ourmonthinpics…<br />
Right: Web<br />
Writer Cat<br />
compares<br />
gold medals<br />
in Rio with<br />
Laura Trott<br />
(Cat won<br />
hers for<br />
duty-free<br />
shopping)<br />
Left:<br />
Entertainment<br />
Director Lottie<br />
doing the very<br />
serious work<br />
of sampling<br />
carrot-cake<br />
ice cream<br />
with Zoella<br />
And kiss of<br />
the month<br />
goes to<br />
Fashion<br />
Assistant<br />
Maddy’s<br />
latest admirer<br />
15
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