Online Abuse Defense Training Program

Trainings and Workshops

Online Abuse Self-Defense Training 

This session equips writers and journalists, as well as their allies and employers, with practical tools and strategies to defend against online abuse. Taking a holistic approach to digital safety, we’ll talk about how to prepare, respond, take care of yourself, and support others.

Duration: 1.5 hours 

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Bolster Your Digital Safety: An Anti-Hacking, Anti-Doxing Workshop

In partnership with Freedom of the Press Foundation 

Learn to better protect yourself from impersonation, hacking, and doxing (the publishing of private info). With your devices in hand, join PEN America and Freedom of the Press Foundation for an interactive workshop where we’ll teach you how to audit your social media accounts, tighten your privacy settings, and track your personal information online so you can maintain the public profile you need to do your job.

Duration: 1.5 hours

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Bystander Intervention Training: What to Do When you See Online Abuse 

In partnership with Right To Be

Abusive trolls are joining forces to disproportionately target writers and journalists —especially those who identify as women, LGBTQ+, or POC—to intimidate, discredit, and silence. Each and every one of us can be an ally. Join PEN America and Right To Be for this interactive training, where we’ll give you the tools you need to intervene safely and effectively when you witness online abuse using Right To Be’s 5 D’s of Bystander Intervention.

Duration: 1 hour 

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Employer Best Practices Workshop: Supporting Staff and Freelancers Facing Online Abuse

Most publishers and newsrooms have staff and freelancers who are routinely subjected to hate and harassment online. This directly undermines efforts to create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment. In this session, organizational leadership joins PEN America to map out concrete strategies for how to better protect and support staff and freelancers in preparing for, responding to, and mitigating the damage of online abuse.

Duration: 1-2 hours, with consultation on policies, protocols, etc. as necessary

Impact & Reach

We have conducted 50+ trainings and workshops for media organizations, publishers, universities, and professional associations across the United States and increasingly internationally, reaching over 10,000 writers, journalists, editors, newsroom leaders, publishers, activists, academics, and lawyers, among others.

Testimonials

“You got us thinking about these issues in new and more ambitious ways. You were engaging in your presentations with the broader staff. You showed them that we can be proactive. It’s an overused phrase, but you empowered everyone. You also made management feel more comfortable by making us aware that there are no easy answers or solutions. That alone propelled us to do more work on this—far more. We’ve been engaged ever since you left, and we cite your work and role often. In short, thank you.”
—Brian McGrory, Editor-in-Chief, The Boston Globe

“As a journalist who sometimes writes about sensitive topics, online harassment has become part of the job. But that doesn’t mean it’s normal. PEN America’s training gave me the tools and resources I need to mitigate and manage this ongoing problem, even as a freelancer. Online harassment discourages reporters, journalists, and writers from sharing their stories—it censors us because of the emotional and mental labor it adds to the job. I’m grateful for PEN’s acknowledgment of this issue so we writers feel more empowered to do what we do.”
—Kristin Wong, Journalist, Authors Guild

“PEN America’s online harassment defense training helped us think about how to prepare for harassment and how to better respond when it happens. The training made us rethink some of our policies and approaches. One of the most useful parts was the chance for staff to hear their colleagues’ experiences and share their strategies and tips. In addition, the Online Harassment Field Manual is an excellent resource for both staff and freelancers.”
—Megan Wiegand, Managing Editor, Slate Magazine

“Online abuse is a very real issue in the journalism field today, and we need to be proactive in preparing women, who are disproportionately targeted. The training PEN America provided was thorough and thoughtful, and highly relevant. The trainers brought a compassionate and gentle approach to a difficult topic that seemed to put students at ease.”
—Willow Bay, Dean, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

“I wanted to quickly email to say: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Not only have you all given free trainings for really important skills, but this training in particular will be so incredibly helpful after several libraries in my system were hit with intense anti-LGBTQ+ trolls on social media last year. This escalated to stalking and harassment. I have several librarian friends that I’ve forwarded this to who will really value it.”
—Anonymous

“I just wanted to say thank you, thank you, thank you for such a wonderful seminar! I’ve learned so much and will make the necessary changes immediately. After my piece came out last year, I had such a terrible storm for three days—it was really traumatizing. I won’t let it silence me, but I do live in fear of it happening again. Your seminar absolutely helped strengthen my resolve to get back out there.”
—Anonymous, Reporter, Journalism & Women Symposium