UPDATE: Unfortunately, the BuzzFeed Open Lab is shutting down, and since sending processing calls costs money, this hotline will no longer be maintained :(
Harassment is an important issue in the tech industry, but not everyone feels comfortable making public statements about their experiences. Many people feel pressure, in big ways or small, to stay quiet.
Perhaps you don’t think your incident was “important” enough, perhaps you fear the scrutiny you’d face, or perhaps you’re still working through mixed feelings. Perhaps you’d suffer professional consequences, or perhaps you had to sign a non-disparagement clause.
We want to understand and highlight the pressures people face after suffering harassment, so here's a hotline for you to share your stories anonymously. What was your experience? If you chose to stay quiet — why?
Share your story on our tech harassment hotline:
1 (510) 901-5055
Interested in listening to stories?
Soon, we will be publishing stories on this hotline — check back in a few days for the option to hear messages that have been submitted.
How your stories will be used:
This project is for sharing stories between callers, so we may play back any story you submit to other callers. We may also republish experiences on BuzzFeed stories in the future.
Your phone number will always be kept anonymous from the public. By default, your phone number won't be shared with any reporters. If you are willing to be contacted by a reporter, you'll have the option to share your phone number with BuzzFeed News after leaving your message.
Some tips & details:
Your message can be up to 60 seconds long. We encourage you to avoid sharing identifying information, such as names of individuals.
Remember that the hotline is about sharing stories, so you will be recorded and BuzzFeed News may share your story with others. We can only do so though if we are, in our sole discretion, able to determine when, where, how, and in what form your story should be shared to reach the most people. Protecting individuals’ identities is important to us, so we may modify your recording and remove identifying information. By using the hotline, you give BuzzFeed News permission to reproduce, perform, display, transmit, transform, and distribute your story without any sort of payment to you.