Hit93.1 Riverina’s Bronte Langbroek shared an open letter with her listeners this morning, detailing with unwanted harassment, something she experienced only recently.
Bronte spoke directly to her harasser, saying “You might not know who I am, and I might never see you again, but I know you saw the distress on my face when you chose to approach me.
“And you might be sitting there listening with your mum, or your sister, or your partner… and they don’t know what you’ve done, but I want you to hear the hurt in my voice and know that you caused it.”
Bronte went on to say “I tried to ignore the things that I could hear you were saying to get a rise out of me,… I even changed my direction to get away but when you followed me, continued to bait me… you stole the right that I have to feel safe,”
Before finishing with “Think of someone doing it to your mum or sister or girlfriend. I owe you nothing but you owe it to yourself to change.”
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Ms Langbroek's experience of harrassment is not the first time a broadcaster has been harassed.
Harassment come in many forms, verbal, written and physical. That includes those keyboard cowards. One former ABC broadcaster was kissed while on air.
https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/man-arrested-after-alleged-assault-of-abc-staffer-20180910-p502va.html
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-10/abc-triple-j-presenter-allegedly-kissed-by-intruder-while-on-air/10222994
One NSW midnight-to-dawn broadcaster admitted on air to receiving death threats from a keyboard coward. Taken to the extreme, one broadcaster was murdered at his home in the US in 1984 because of his Jewish faith and heritage.
https://www.denverpost.com/2009/06/17/the-murder-of-alan-berg-in-denver-25-years-later/
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/alan-berg-talked-to-death-71920/
A broadcaster's comments may well rub nerves or are harmless. But that is no justification for threatening or actual physical and/or verbal and/or written harasment.
Measures by the ABC to increase security including security checks minimise the risk of harrasment. Another mitigation measure would be to monitor the keyboard coward's IP address and other intelligence about the coward.
There must be many broadcasters or public figures or "influencers" or people of public note who may have experienced sucarrassment. Such events go unpublished and MUST remain unpublished for their own safety and the prevention of copycats engaging in such heinous conduct.
It's not only the abovementioned people. It may well be people or school students who are bullied via social media.
Harassment occurs to people from public personalities to the ordinary school student and it takes many forms.
The recipient's mind may well be tormented and accordingly should immediately call an ambulance and/or doctor and/or an emergency line such as Lifeline 13-11-14, Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636, and other mental health support at https://www.mentalhealthcommission.gov.au/about/get-help.
More helplines are mentioned at
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-19/teen-suicide-of-dolly-everett-sparks-new-ad-on-cyberbullying/11523028
In case the ABC page disappears, the archived version is at
https://web.archive.org/web/20190920193234/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-19/teen-suicide-of-dolly-everett-sparks-new-ad-on-cyberbullying/11523028
Thank you,
Anthony of Belfield