Faculty Harassment Support

These situations can be alarming to those who are targeted. Do not discount someone who brings you a concern. If there has been a direct threat of immediate physical violence, call 9-1-1 immediately. If there is no immediate threat, ensure that a report has been submitted through George Mason’s Violence Awareness and Prevention website. The appropriate university departments and officials can assist you in offering support and resources. 

For Chairs, Local Academic Unit Heads, and Principal Investigators of Individuals Being Targeted

  • As you become aware of an incident, reach out to the targeted individual(s) to offer support and resources.  

  • Communicate with your dean’s office to ensure that they are aware of the situation. 

  • Working with the appropriate university departments and officials, assess the broader safety issues for the targeted individual(s). For example, you may consider whether workspaces (office, lab, classroom) should be temporarily moved or protected, whether contact information should be temporarily removed from directories, and whether others are at risk.   

  • Evaluate the impact of the harassment and if there is a need to mitigate potential effects on their teaching, research, scholarly, or creative work.  

  • Monitor the situation as others may also receive harassing messages. If that happens, work with the appropriate university department and officials to determine a course of action, including considering what resources and support others may need. For example, others who share the demographic identity of targeted individuals may need or want support depending on the harassment.   

For Deans and Deans’ Offices of Individuals Being Targeted

  • As you become aware of an incident, reach out to the targeted individual(s) to offer support and resources.   

  • Work with the appropriate university department and officials to ensure a coordinated response. This might include college/school academic leadership, senior administrators, your HR liaison, and your communications lead. Your school/college communications team should keep the Office of University Branding informed as needed and coordinate any internal and external messaging.  

  • Reinforce the importance of the safety of members of our community, and George Mason’s commitment to freedom of expression and learning environments that foster open inquiry and civil dialogue.  

  • Assess whether others in the dean’s office (e.g., administrative staff who answer the phone) may receive harassing messages. If that happens, work with the appropriate university department and officials to determine a course of action, including considering what resources and support others may need. For example, others who share the demographic identity of targeted individuals may need or want support, depending on the harassment.

For Central Administrative Offices

  • Office of University Branding: Ensure that the targeted individual(s) and relevant university leadership are kept current as the situation unfolds, consult with them about what response you are advising, coordinate university-level messaging as needed with the Office of the President, Office of the Provost, and Office of University Counsel. 

 

Resources

Common Definitions

  • Trolling is when individuals deliberately follow and provoke others online, often with offensive content. While most trolling is merely a nuisance, occasionally trolling attacks can escalate to threats against a target and/or the target’s organization.  

  • Doxxing is when private identifying information that is not otherwise publicly available is published online (e.g., phone number, home address, financial information) to frighten the individual and encourage additional harassment.  

  • Cyberbullying is the willful and repeated harm inflicted through computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices.  

Additional University Information

Related University Policies