Legal Considerations

Documenting: Why it is Painful and Important

Keeping track of harassment is, often, the last thing the target of harassment wants to do. It can be anxiety-inducing and traumatic. To address this, some of us have been known to ask a trusted friend to monitor our social media accounts at particularly virulent moments of assault. Others of us keep incomplete records since we cannot bear to keep track of it all. We honor and recognize, based on our own experiences, the difficulties of documentation.

 

Documenting Hindutva harassment—if possible, systematically—can help you in several ways. It may allow you to notice patterns of abuse or escalation. It is also critical evidence that you may wish to share with law enforcement or use in civil proceedings. Only you can decide whether and how you want to document attacks.

 

If you choose to document Hindutva harassment, this might include keeping track of the following:

  • social media posts (at and about you)

  • direct messages on social media apps

  • emails to you

  • emails to your colleagues or employer

  • written letters

  • voicemails

Practically, screenshots are an easy way to capture most online harassment. You want to capture the user name, date, and what is said. When filing a police report, it can also be helpful to print hard copies of these materials. 

*This page is written specifically for individuals based in the United States.

*This page is for educational purposes; it is not written by attorneys and should not be construed as legal advice.

Contacting the Police

There is no exact formula of when you should report Hindutva harassment to the police. You are the best person to make that decision, for you and your family. You may wish to consider your own comfort level and the risks as you perceive them. If you are at an educational institution, you might consider reaching out to your campus police (rather or in addition to local law enforcement). Please be aware that your campus police may involve other law enforcement—at the local, state, and federal levels—as they see fit.

  

The police will likely be most helpful in the following cases:

  • You have received direct threats of violence

  • Someone has published sexually-explicit images of you without your consent

  • You’ve been stalked, online or in person

  • You know your harasser and wish to either alert law enforcement or seek a restraining order

 

Going to the police has several possible benefits. It creates a paper trail, which can be valuable if the harassment worsens or shifts from online to in person. It can be difficult to tell where in the world Hindutva harassment comes from, and the police, working with prosecutors, can often determine that information. This can help you assess your own level of risk. The police may be able to identify and charge your harasser(s) with criminal activity. This is a rare outcome in our collective experience, but it is worth mentioning. 

Civil Litigation

Civil litigation can be both a tool to help you seek damages against Hindutva harassers, and it can also be used, by harassers, as part of a Hindutva assault (example). It is difficult to generalize about civil litigation, given its range. If you find yourself targeted with civil litigation, a few considerations are as follows:

  • Consider reaching out to your university’s Office of General Counsel. Depending on your institution and the case, you may be able to request a defense and / or indemnification.

  • Familiarize yourself with groups that defend academic freedom and, depending on the circumstances, may assist you with finding pro bono legal counsel, such as FIRE or AAUP.

  • Use your networks, whatever they may be, to both seek legal counsel and other kinds of support.

  • Retain all evidence. Many of us have policies of deleting emails or social media posts regularly. Once you are threatened or served with a lawsuit, you need to preserve all materials that might be relevant until its conclusion.

  • As a precaution, even if you are not currently the target of civil litigation, consider opting for a legal insurance program, especially if one is offered by your university.

An additional resource is the Legal Program of AAUP (American Association of University Professors).