Online Harassment and Image-Based Abuse

If you are in danger right now: call SAPS on 10111, or 112 from a mobile. If you feel you cannot cope, call the Suicide Crisis Helpline on 0800 567 567, any time.

Maybe someone has shared private photos of you, or is threatening to. Maybe the messages will not stop. It can feel like the whole world has seen. You are not to blame, and there are real steps that help.

Staying safe on your phone: if someone may check your phone, read this in a private or incognito tab, clear your browser history afterwards, or use a trusted friend's phone, a work phone or a library computer.

What is happening

Online harassment is repeated abuse through phones, apps and social media: threats, insults, fake accounts, spreading lies or sharing your personal details. Image-based abuse is when someone shares, or threatens to share, intimate photos or videos of you without your consent. When they demand money or more images, it is often called sextortion.

In South Africa, the Cybercrimes Act makes it a crime to share an intimate image of someone without their consent, and to send messages that threaten violence. You can open a case at SAPS. You can also get a protection order under the Protection from Harassment Act, even against someone you do not know.

If someone is blackmailing you, do not pay and do not send more. Paying usually leads to more demands.

Signs to notice

• Intimate images of you shared or threatened
• Demands for money or more pictures
• Fake accounts pretending to be you
• Threats of violence in messages or comments
• Your address or phone number posted online
• You feel sick, ashamed or scared to go online

30-second self-check

Answer yes or no. If you answer yes to the first question, stop here and get help now: call 10111, or 0800 567 567 if you are thinking of harming yourself.

• Are you having thoughts of ending your life, or is someone threatening to hurt you?
• Has someone shared or threatened to share intimate images of you?
• Is someone demanding money or more images?
• Do they know where you live or work?
• Has it gone on for more than a week?
• Are you under 18?

0-1 yes: If your yes was the first question, get help now. Otherwise, save the evidence and block the person.
2-3 yes: This is serious and may be a crime. Save evidence, report the content, and talk to someone today.
4 or more yes: Please get help now. Call the Suicide Crisis Helpline on 0800 567 567 if you feel overwhelmed, and report to SAPS. If you are under 18, call Childline on 116.

What you can do next

• Today: Screenshot everything, with dates, usernames and links. Then report and block the account on the platform. Do not pay or reply.
• This week: Open a case at SAPS under the Cybercrimes Act, or apply for a protection order at the magistrate's court. Take printed screenshots.
• This month: Lock down your accounts: change passwords, turn on two-step checks and review privacy settings. Talk to a counsellor about the shame and fear.
• Most big platforms have a special form for reporting intimate images shared without consent. Use it: they often remove the content faster.
• If you are under 18, any sexual image of you is illegal to share. Tell a trusted adult or call Childline on 116.

Your tool

Safety Plan Builder - helps you plan who to tell, what to save, and how to stay safe online and offline.

When to get professional help

Get help if you feel hopeless, cannot sleep or are scared to leave the house. A counsellor or psychologist can help with the shame. A lawyer can help with court and takedowns.
Who can help: emergency services (SAPS), Legal Aid South Africa, attorneys, counsellors, psychologists

Getting help in South Africa

• SAPS (10111): open a case under the Cybercrimes Act.
• Magistrate's courts: protection orders under the Protection from Harassment Act.
• Childline (116): for anyone under 18.
• Suicide Crisis Helpline (0800 567 567): 24 hours, if it feels too much.
• Cleared Mind 24-hour Careline (0800 212 146): confidential counselling any time.