Online hate incidents

What are online hate crimes and hate incidents?

Online hate crimes and incidents are actions taken online motivated by hostility or prejudice towards a person’s actual or perceived race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or age.

They can include a broad range of acts such as threatening behaviour, harassment, verbal abuse, online abuse, criminal damage, assault, and sexual violence.

The fact that we now live our lives in a constant flux between real world and online spaces, means that this behaviour can now be experienced "virtually" as well as physically.

Like physical world hate incidents, online hate can manifest in various ways, including hate speech, cyberbullying, trolling, and the spread of extremist ideologies.

Who is most at risk?

While anyone can be the target of online hate incidents, certain groups are understood to be more vulnerable due to longstanding societal biases and prejudices. These groups can include racial or ethnic minorities, LGBTQAI+ communities, women and girls, religious minorities and people with disabilities.

Some examples of the type of online harm members of these communities have reported experiencing include:

• Outing of sexuality, sex characteristics, or gender
• Online shaming or name-calling
• Sharing of intimate images without consent
• Encouragement to self-harm
• Threats of violence or sexual violence
• Use of fake accounts for harassment
• Unwanted repeated messages
• Threats of any of the above

Can we prevent online hate incidents?

Lots of organisations are working to try to prevent the harm caused by online hate before it happens. It requires a combined approach from individuals, civil society, government bodies and education.

Efforts can include a range of work such as digital literacy, awareness raising of the harm impact of such behaviour, platform policies and community standards, reporting mechanisms for swift remediation, community building and law reform.

What to do if you experience an online hate incident

If you’re experiencing bullying, abuse or harassment online Netsafe can explain how the Harmful Digital Communications Act (HDCA)(/our-work/helpline-services/the-harmful-digital-communications-act) may apply to you.

The 10 communication principles in the HDCA outline that a digital communication should not denigrate a person’s colour, race, ethnic or national origins, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability.

Our team can walk you through your options for reporting the incident and advise you on aspects such as gathering digital evidence.

You can see our guide on gathering digital evidence(/online-abuse-and-harassment/how-to-record-digital-evidence) here.

What to do if you witness a hate crime or incident

Support the victim:  Ensure they are safe and not alone.

Record it:  Gather evidence by recording videos, taking photos, or noting details (if safe to do so). Follow our advice for recording digital evidence here.(/online-abuse-and-harassment/how-to-record-digital-evidence)

Tell someone:  Report to authorities or call 111 if someone is in danger.

You can report online hate incidents to Netsafe

Report online (https://report.netsafe.org.nz/hc/en-au/requests/new)Email [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])Text 'Netsafe' to 4282 (sms:4282?body=Netsafe)Live chat support Call 0508 638 723 8am-8pm weekdays, 9am-5pm weekends (tel:0508638723)

You can also report online hate incidents to:

Police:  Call 111 if someone is in danger. For non-urgent reports, use their online(http://105.police.govt.nz/) reporting system.

Human Rights Commission:  The Commission handle enquiries and complaints(https://tikatangata.org.nz/resources-and-support/make-a-complaint) about unlawful discrimination and harassment.

What to do when you see online hate content

If you experience or see hateful content online, consider the following steps:

1. Think before reacting:  Take a moment to decide on the best course of action.
2. Reach out:  Talk to someone you trust.
3. Keep evidence:  Save texts, emails, and screenshots- if possible.
4. Report it:  Block or report the harmful content on the platform - Netsafe can advise or assist with this if needed.
5. Seek further advice:  If you’re concerned about the publishing of content which is likely to excite hostility against or bring into contempt any group of persons (Section 61 Racial Disharmony of the Human Rights Act 1993) you can contact the Human Rights Commission(https://www.hrc.co.nz/enquiries-and-complaints/) for further advice.

Online extremist content as online hate

You can report violent extremist content here(https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=XMpZ9kf8lk6yTRTJXfE6yy1PwW3W-pxOivGsWXhrFX5UQjdGN0dLWjZMU09RQkowVk5SUTM4MEhFQSQlQCN0PWcu) to the Department of Internal Affairs' Digital Safety Team.

Violent extremism refers to an individual or group who justifies the use of violence, or advocates for others to use violence in order to radically change the nature of government, religion or society. This type of violence is often targeted at groups that violent extremists perceive as threatening or undermining their worldview.

The spread of this type of material online can lead to incidents of online, or even real-world hate incidents, targeting the communities featured in the material.

You can read more on the DIA's website.(https://www.dia.govt.nz/Countering-Violent-Extremism-Online)

Support is available

There are a range of resources and services available to help including phone and online services and information, as well as face to face support.