Online Harassment and Women’s Resistance

In today’s episode of Chatting with Betsy, host Betsy Wurzel welcomes journalist and author Alia Dastagir to discuss her new book, To Those Who Have Confused You to Be a Person: Words as Violence and Stories of Women’s Resistance Online. Alia shares her personal experiences with online harassment, including death and rape threats from strangers, highlighting the urgent need for stronger protections.

Betsy and Alia examine how constant harassment takes a toll—causing stress, health problems, and silencing women who might otherwise share their stories. Police remain largely untrained to address digital abuse, leaving many without meaningful support.

The book amplifies voices of women who have endured online attacks, often from men emboldened by anonymity. Women of color, Indigenous women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and members of the transgender community are especially frequent targets. Betsy and Alia also reflect on how civility and humanity often vanish behind the keyboard, and why clear social media guidelines are urgently needed.

📚 Betsy strongly recommends this eye-opening book, available now on Amazon. ❤ Purchase Here

About the Author

Alia Dastagir is a former USA Today reporter who has covered gender and mental health extensively. She was one of eight U.S. recipients of the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism and won the National Headliner Award for her work on suicide. Her reporting has also earned the American Association of Suicidology’s Public Service Journalism Award and the Council on Contemporary Families’ Media Coverage Award. She has appeared on CNN, NPR, and C-SPAN, and is currently pursuing an MFA in creative writing at NYU.

 👉 Listen to the full interview with Betsy Wurzel and Alia Dastagir as they explore the challenges of online harassment and the strength of women’s resistance.   🙌 Click here to listen…

This powerful conversation sheds light on the hidden costs of online harassment and the courage it takes for women to keep sharing their stories.

📌 Share this episode to raise awareness of online harassment and women’s resilience. Join the conversation and help amplify voices that matter.

💡 Learn more at Alia’s website, where you can also find links to purchase her book:  https://aliadastagir.com/

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