MSU addressing a rise in virtual harassment

<p>We're all spending a lot more time in virtual spaces and that's likely to continue well into our future, even as we might be slowly moving back towards more in-person meetings and classes. But virtual spaces aren't void of harassment. <br> <br> Harassment can show up in these spaces of learning and working just like in-person. Here to define and talk about virtual harassment are Lydia Weiss from Michigan State University's Prevention Outreach and Education Department (<a href="http://poe.msu.edu">POE</a>), and Erin Martin with MSU’s Office of Institutional Equity (<a href="http://oie.msu.edu">OIE</a>). <br> <br> “When we're talking about virtual harassment, we're looking at willful and/or repeated harm inflicted through the use of electronic tools,” says Martin. “And these are tools that we use really every day. But now that we are working primarily remotely, we may be using them more than we had before. When OIE is looking at harassment and what harassment is either in person or in this new virtual environment, we're looking at really two types of harassment that are discriminatory in nature. That would be harassment that is against somebody because of their age, color, gender, gender identity, disability status, height, marital status, national origin, political persuasion, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, or weight. So that's one umbrella of harassment that we may see in these virtual spaces.<br> <br> “The second kind of harassment that we may see falls under what we would consider relationship violence or sexual misconduct. And that's loosely defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other unwelcome behavior of a sexual nature. In these virtual spaces, we acknowledge that even though we are not face to face, we are still having interactions. Most virtual harassment can be placed under one of those groups.”<br> <br> Martin and Weiss describe the difference between virtual harassment and social media harassment.<br> <br> “In a lot of ways they can inters