[March 2, 2023. NEW YORK, NY] –– Right To Be (formerly Hollaback!), the leading non-profit focused on combating harassment and targeted hate across the globe, is launching a new online storytelling platform where everyone around the world can share their experiences with online and in-person harassment and access real-time help and resources from people in the community. 

The harassment-combatting storytelling and training platform launch comes at a time of increasing harassment and violence across the globe. In the United States alone, the FBI reported 7,262 hate crime incidents in 2021, and reports suggest that identity-based harassment has increased to unprecedented levels. 

The expansive platform will provide a safe environment for all people who have experienced harassment and their allies to build community. Everyone’s truth has a right to be heard, and this innovative platform will provide two important functions to those who really need it: a place to share their truth, no matter what that is and where it happened, and a community of bystanders who are committed to providing support. Allies will have the opportunity to respond to others’ stories with affirmative messages and use the platform’s tools to help document and report abuse. 

“Storytelling has the power to heal both the individual and the community,” said Emily May, President and Co-Founder of Right To Be. “By sharing personal experiences of harassment and violence to a safe and supportive space, our users show each other that they are not alone, and begin to see their experience as part of a larger system of injustice. Our hope is that this movement will not only empower those affected by harassment to speak up, but also give them the tools they need to begin their healing journey.”

Right To Be began in 2005 as a blog where women and LGBTQ+ folks were invited to share their stories of gender-based street harassment. Now 17 years later, the concept has evolved into a full-scale international organization working to build the power of those affected by harassment and create a world that is harassment-free and filled with humanity. They have collected more than 32,000 stories of harassment and have trained over 1.4 million people across the globe on how to intervene when harassment happens. 

Research shows that 76% of people report intervening after receiving bystander intervention training, and with this newly-launched platform, everyone around the world will have access to a a safe space that can support their healing and bystander intervention tools to do their part in ending harassment in all forms.

“We are at our best as a society when we’re working to support each other, which is exactly the opportunity this platform provides,” said Jorge Arteaga, Vice President of Right To Be. “In creating a safe, communal environment with global resources for those who experience harassment, we are on our way to tackling this pervasive and debilitating problem that has woven its way through every facet of our culture.”

On the platform, women and gender-expansive journalists can also receive support and help other colleagues. A 2022 study conducted by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) revealed that 73% of women journalists said they had experienced online violence. Reporters can create a journalist account on Right To Be’s new platform and tag their stories as journalist stories, allowing for more specific and attentive support for documenting and reporting harassment.

Right To Be is a pioneer in ending harassment and building a world where everyone has a right to be who they are, wherever they are. With the launch of this first-of-its-kind platform, anyone can now access resources to better understand the various forms of harassment, how to engage safely with social media, how to intervene as a bystander following the 5Ds methodology, and how to help others report malicious incidents.

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Right To Be is a people-powered movement working to build a world free of harassment and filled with humanity. We are a team of educators, motivators, and facilitators who are listening, guiding, and cheering you on. Every day, we train hundreds of people to respond to, intervene in, and heal from harassment. We hold space for people experiencing harassment to share their stories for affirmation and support. And we prepare new leaders to create workplaces, schools, and communities around the world that are filled with humanity. For more information or how you can get involved, visit www.righttobe.org. Follow Right To Be on Twitter and Facebook at, @righttobeorg.