Lived Experiences
Why Survivor Stories Matter
Online abuse is often minimized, dismissed, or treated as “just the internet.” Survivor stories show the reality behind the screen.
- The emotional toll
- The fear and isolation
- The impact on work, family, and mental health
- The strength it takes to speak out
These stories help others feel seen — and help decision-makers understand why accountability and protection matter.
Privacy, Safety, and Respect
We take survivor safety seriously.
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- Submissions are reviewed before posting
- Identifying details are removed or anonymized
- Survivors choose how they are identified
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Share Your Lived Experience
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Open Submission FormMy Story
A personal account of what happens when setting boundaries online leads to retaliation, surveillance, and sustained harassment.
This did not begin as an online disagreement.
It began when I set boundaries.
One individual believed she had the right to monitor everything I did online. That belief was rooted in her own personal circumstances, not in any conflict with me. When I made it clear that this level of monitoring was not acceptable, the response was retaliation.
Others became involved after I blocked them for violating my boundaries offline. Rather than respect those boundaries, they treated being blocked as an invitation to escalate.
What followed was coordinated harassment.
Private group spaces were created where my life was monitored in detail. My livestreams and videos were routinely recorded—often in real time—and systematically stored. Entire collections of my content were archived and kept in shared cloud storage, including Google Drives. This was not passive viewing, it was intentional data collection. Alongside my content, personal and private information was gathered and stored. This included details about my income, my online audience, and my family members—people who had no involvement and gave no consent.
My followers and subscribers were actively monitored and discussed. There were conversations about how to interfere with my work and intentionally affect my ability to earn a living.
In those same spaces, there were explicit discussions about physical harm, including statements about killing me. My grief was mocked. Deeply personal losses were treated as entertainment.
The behavior was not about communication or disagreement—it was about control, punishment, and intimidation.
I tried every reasonable response.
I stayed silent. That did not stop it.
I set firm boundaries and blocked those involved. That did not stop it.
I stood up for myself publicly and attempted to bring awareness to what was happening—carefully pointing out who was involved and using their own words to show others the reality of what was being done to me. That did not stop it.
I documented everything. I contacted platforms. I went to law enforcement. I sought legal guidance. None of it stopped the behavior.
What became clear was that no single response was effective because the systems meant to protect people were not built to address sustained digital harassment between adults—especially when it is coordinated, retaliatory, and ongoing.
Living with the knowledge that people are recording you, storing your content, tracking your income, and collecting information about your family changes how you move through the world. I became acutely aware of every post, every livestream, and every unfamiliar name within my viewers. Even when I logged off, the sense of being watched remained.
Because I am an adult, the harm was often minimized. Because it happened online, it was treated as less real. But when people record and store your life, discuss harming you, monitor your livelihood, and target your family, the impact is neither abstract nor harmless. It affects safety, stability, and well-being.
This experience showed me how easily accountability fails—and how often silence protects those who violate boundaries.
That is why I am sharing my story.
Voices Unhidden exists because blocking should mean stop. Because standing up for yourself should not lead to punishment and retaliation. And because adults deserve meaningful protection from harassment just as much as anyone else.
If you recognize yourself in any part of this story, please know this: you are not overreacting. You are not imagining the harm. And you are not alone.
Your voice matters. And it deserves to be heard—without fear.
"I am sharing my story to help others understand what sustained online harassment can look like for adults — and how deeply it can impact not just one person, but an entire family.
Over time, I experienced repeated body shaming, degrading language, and targeted harassment about my appearance and identity. Fake accounts were created to impersonate me and members of my family, including loved ones who are no longer alive. Personal information belonging to me and my relatives was shared online without consent, leading to fear, stress, and a loss of safety.
I was subjected to coordinated harassment, threatening messages, and public ridicule. Strangers contacted my family members directly. I received messages telling me I did not belong online, that I was worthless, and that I should harm myself. Some harassment escalated to attempts to publicly humiliate or intimidate me in my own home.
When I tried to protect myself and set boundaries, the harm did not stop — instead, my actions were distorted and used against me. I was falsely labeled, misrepresented, and blamed for behavior I did not engage in. The emotional toll of being targeted in this way was overwhelming.
What I want people to understand is that online abuse doesn’t stay online. It follows you into your relationships, your sense of safety, and your daily life. Adults facing this kind of harm often have very few protections and are left to navigate it alone.
I am still healing. Sharing this is part of reclaiming my voice — not to retaliate, but to be heard.
Story shared voluntarily. Edited for clarity, privacy, and safety.
Brett’s Story
Hi, my name is Brett.
I was a victim of child molestation by a family member when I was a teenager. The abuse began when I was 15 and continued until I was 17. The person who harmed me lived in the same home, so there was no escape except during the times I learned he had warrants out for his arrest.
During that time, I struggled deeply. I experienced nightmares and relived the trauma over and over. I went through periods where I wanted to end my life. But I survived.
Throughout the abuse, I was also verbally bullied and called derogatory names. I was told I was gay and repeatedly called slurs meant to shame and degrade me.
I want anyone reading this to know you are not alone. And you are not just a victim anymore — you are a survivor.
That’s my story.
Jewels shares her experience with lifelong bullying and the lasting impact it has had on her life.
Hi, my name is Jewels. I dealt with bullying at a young age. I grew up in a large family where my parents struggled to raise all of us properly. We didn’t have the common knowledge that many people do. When I was younger, I had to take showers at school, and I dealt with head lice for most of my childhood and teen years. The school nurse would sometimes have the principal announce our names over the intercom so our heads could be checked.
Because of that, we were called names and singled out, even on school trips. The bullying didn’t stop there. Once I reached high school, the people I thought were my friends made me feel like I was nobody. I couldn’t handle it anymore, so I dropped out of school.
Around that time, I turned 18, got married, and later experienced emotional abuse. I began harming myself at a young age and now live with those scars for the rest of my life. I didn’t feel like I had support or a safe place to talk about what I had been through or the things people had said to me.
Even today, I still struggle when someone notices my scars or learns about my history. I often wish I had better role models growing up. When I was young, we didn’t have technology, but the bullying was just as traumatizing as cyberbullying.
Bullying doesn’t only happen online — it happens offline too, even with people you thought you could trust and confide in. The trauma affected me deeply and led to periods where I was in and out of psychiatric hospitals. I didn’t graduate high school, and my relationships and friendships have been constantly challenged.
I am a survivor of both systemic neglect and lifelong bullying. Experiences at school left me feeling publicly humiliated and singled out. When the people you trust make you feel like a nobody, the damage runs deep. It led me to drop out of school, endure an abusive relationship, and struggle with self-harm that has left me with permanent scars.
Survivor Story — K.
A mother shares how cyberstalking, impersonation, threats, and the unauthorized use of her daughter’s photographs affected her family’s safety, privacy, and emotional well-being.
“It’s Time to Use My Voice”
Shared using the survivor’s requested initial
K.’s Story
For a long time, I stayed quiet because I did not want to create more conflict. But staying silent came at a cost, and I can no longer keep what I have been experiencing to myself.
As a mother, nothing is more important to me than my daughter’s safety and well-being. Over time, I became deeply concerned by online activity that, in my view, crossed the line. I saw what I believed were fake social-media accounts using my daughter’s photographs under names that were not hers. Seeing my child’s image used in this way was heartbreaking and frightening.
To me, this felt threatening, intimidating, and like a form of cyberstalking and impersonation. Whether others understood that feeling or not, it had a real impact on my daily life. It caused stress, anxiety, and fear that no parent should have to carry.
I am not sharing this to attack anyone or create drama. I am sharing it because I want my voice to be heard. Using a child’s photographs without permission and creating accounts that appear to represent them can have a profound emotional impact on a parent.
No one should have to live wondering what will happen next or feel afraid every time they open social media. What happens online can affect a person’s mental health, sense of safety, family, and everyday life in very real ways.
I constantly think about my daughter’s safety. I wonder who is seeing her photographs, where they are being used, and what the intentions are behind it. It has taken away my sense of peace and made it harder to focus on simply being a mother and living my life.
I reported my concerns to law enforcement because I believed the situation needed to be taken seriously. I wanted my daughter’s privacy, safety, and well-being to be protected. After reporting it, however, I continued to feel unheard and as though I was fighting the battle alone.
The hardest part is feeling powerless—knowing something is affecting your everyday life while feeling as though your voice is not being heard. I do not want attention or conflict. I want safety, accountability, and for someone to understand why this has been so serious and painful.
I will continue to stand up for myself and, most importantly, for my daughter. My voice matters. Her safety matters. I will never stop advocating for her.
Experience began: 2022
Status: Ongoing
Platforms identified: TikTok and Facebook
Reported impact: Fear for safety, family impact, stress, anxiety, and emotional distress
Support requested: A supportive community to help her through the struggle
This survivor authorized Voices Unhidden to share her submission publicly, including on its website, social-media channels, educational materials, and advocacy or policy initiatives. Identifying information has been withheld in accordance with her request.