Occasionally users of the UCSB computing community and the Internet participate in on-line behavior that may be construed as sexual harassment. It is the policy of UCSB that sexual harassment will not be tolerated on University computing systems or networks. If you feel you have been sexually harassed on-line, there are options open to you to address this problem.

It is generally advisable to follow these steps in the order given, as they are designed to gradually escalate in seriousness. Experience has shown that many problems can be resolved by using the first few steps.

As you proceed through each of these steps it is important to clearly document everything that you and the alleged harasser do. You should save copies of all electronic mail between both parties. When sending mail, use the 'cc:' line to send a carbon copy to yourself and save it into a file. Print out all correspondence. Sign and date the hard copy, as printed evidence often carries more weight than electronic data. The latter can be easily edited.

Steps To Take:

Save a copy of the e-mail, or if possible, the instant communication, or other method in which the alleged harassment took place. Print out a copy, sign and date it, and keep it in a safe place. If you cannot save a copy, write down the details of the correspondence; the date, time, and a description of what was written or done. The more you have documented, the stronger your case will be down the line.

If it is a "live" situation (e.g. instant communication) firmly tell the other person that you do not want to be subjected to what is being said and you want him/her to stop immediately. A sample statement might be, "I do not appreciate or want your attention. Please stop writing/talking/etc. to me immediately." Often this is all it takes to halt unwanted attention or comments.

If the harassment is not in real-time (e.g. via electronic mail), or if the other user does not heed your request to stop, send him or her e-mail asking that the behavior cease. Remember to use the 'cc:' line to keep a carbon for yourself. Your e-mail should be brief and to-the-point.

Here is a sample letter:

"On (date) you, or someone using your account, sent me unsolicited e-mail which I found offensive. I am putting you "on notice" that I do not wish to receive any further correspondence of any type from you. Continuing to send me messages may constitute sexual harassment which is a violation of UC, state and federal law. Again, do not send me any further e-mail or contact me in any other manner, electronic or otherwise."

Signed, (your log-in)

In general, you should not respond to any further correspondence or contact from the harasser. You may consider using the "rules" feature of your server. You can ask your server to automatically intercept and reject from your in-basket all correspondence sent to you from a particular address. If you do not have a "rules" feature, you may check with your network to see if there is a similar feature on your particular server.

At any time in this process you may contact a Sexual Harassment Contact Person on campus.

To read the UCSB Sexual Harassment policy: http://www.ucop.edu/ucophome/coordrev/policy/PP121404policy.pdf

You should also be aware that some offensive e-mail might come from an anonymous source. The university will make a concerted effort to identify the sender of unwelcome e-mails and to get them to stop. E-mail harassers will be sanctioned similar to any other individual found violating the UCSB Sexual Harassment Policy.