Vulnerability and Impact
The vulnerability of individuals and institutions to these attacks, and the impact on those individuals and institutions, varies based on a few factors, including visibility, technical expertise, and isolation.
The visibility of an individual on social media is a significant factor in vulnerability. Particularly in a professional field where organizations can fundraise off their staff’s social media fame, visibility is both a professional boost and a risk factor. Having a large following on any social media platform or a significant engagement with the news cycle drastically increases one’s chances of being subject to discrete or protracted attack.
Less technically-adept individuals are also at higher risk. Many parts of digital security culture are foreign to individuals who spend less time online, which can increase the likelihood of a successful hack or phishing attempt, for example, or result in the accidental use of insecure communicative media. Providing support in the basics of digital and operational security can ensure that all team members operate with a basic level of competence.
Individual workers and grassroots organizations with low budgets are frequently more vulnerable and attractive to attack, because they have little capacity to absorb or repel such attacks. There is a sense on the part of the attacker that they will both be easily taken offline, giving the attacker the social capital (and sometimes monetary payout) of a complete victory in silencing them, and that they will be unable to defend themselves or retaliate.
Organizations run by or employing individuals at intersections of marginalized identities also face increased threats and attacks. These organizations are often perceived by attackers to lack access to legal and cybersecurity resources that might otherwise frighten bad actors from targeting them. Attackers oftentimes leverage coexisting bias against other marginalized identities to target such individuals and groups. They correctly believe it will do more damage, as it is harder for them to leverage their other identities to garner sympathy and media attention that would support escalation of their concerns.
Democratizing access to and competency with legal and digital security resources on the part of all people is a crucial protective step. Attackers believe that our communities won't step up to protect our most marginalized members; it is our responsibility to prove them wrong.
Additionally, the psychological impact on advocates of being subject to this type of attack cannot be understated. Advocates often have to leave their homes due to threats of violence; they can be arrested and detained, have their careers ruined or families damaged, or face coordinated misinformation campaigns. Several advocates have died as a result of such campaigns, whether by suicide or otherwise. Advocates describe isolation, depression, and trauma.
The effect of this widespread risk also affects the movement and community as a whole. Any individual contemplating professional or non-professional advocacy has to consider the likelihood that they will be subject to these attacks and find themselves with no state, professional, or community support – whether they are considering acting as a plaintiff in impact litigation, expanding their medical practice into caring for transgender adults or youth, or simply weighing the possible paths as the parent of a transgender young person.
In the modern world, organizations and employers whose team members are engaging in any type of advocacy have as much of an obligation to understand and counter these threats as any other type of workplace hazard. Especially as these organizations and employers capitalize on their members’ visibility and fame, they are obligated to provide tools, training, support, and solidarity when that visibility and fame may lead to threat, harassment, and violence.
When we fail to protect our people from violence, burnout, and suicide, we lose them. When we lose our people to these attacks, we lose the movement. It isn’t just our obligation to protect our people from this workplace hazard; it’s our obligation to preserve the future of the LGBTQ+ movement.
