The screen lights up, and it is a shock: a threat, a private photo, a demand for money. Your heart races, everything moves too fast. But in the seconds that follow, your reaction is the best weapon. Knowing what to do immediately can change everything.
This capsule gives four emergency rules. First rule, zero cents, zero replies: don’t pay, don’t send new content to “calm” the abuser, because paying confirms that the blackmail works and triggers the next demand.
Second rule, become an archivist: capture the threats, the profile, the number and the dates before the abuser deletes everything.
Third rule, block and report: use the platform’s tools to report harassment, blackmail or abusive content, then block.
Fourth rule, alert the authorities: in Benin, file a complaint and contact the competent services.
The urgency you feel, that pressure of “10 minutes” or “right now”, is an illusion created by the abuser to stop you from thinking. Nothing is more urgent than the victim’s own safety. Blackmail is a crime, not a shame. By following these reflexes, you take the oxygen away from the fire the abuser tried to start.
This is an initiative of Women EdTech, supported by CARE Benin/Togo and funded by the French Development Agency (AFD), as part of the Digital Safe Space sub-project, phase 2 of the Féministes en Action programme (FeA2).
