Prof. JoAnne Sweeny studying intersection of workplace and cyber harassment

Many people need to have an online presence for their careers. Journalists, small business owners and those in the tech industry all can benefit professionally by maintaining a robust online presence. 

But for many women, this professional necessity can also come with harassment in the form of rude comments and threatening messages.

Brandeis School of Law Professor JoAnne Sweeny is studying this intersection of workplace and cyber harassment — a phenomenon she has termed cyber workplace harassment. 

Sweeny argues that cyber harassment and street harassment, such as catcalling, are the same.

“The danger, I argue, is the same,” she says. “It’s men telling women, ‘You don’t belong here.’ It’s men deliberately making women feel unsafe.”

Many people might be unaware of the pervasiveness of cyber workplace harassment, Sweeny says. She hopes that her mentor, Professor Mary Anne Franks from the University of Miami School of Law, can help her find a way to communicate the importance of this topic in a way that moves beyond the academic into the real world.

Franks is available as Sweeny’s mentor thanks to the Dean's Faculty Development Fund, established by Dean Colin Crawford and supported by Interim Provost Dale Billingsley to promote scholarship among law faculty.

From that fund, Sweeny received a grant meant for junior faculty members. The grant allows junior faculty to approach a nationally recognized scholar as a mentor to provide focused attention on a piece of scholarship. That mentor will visit Louisville to focus intensively on the article and to deliver a lecture or make a presentation.

Franks is the keynote speaker at the Feb. 9 symposium From #MeToo to #NowWhat: The Role of Law in Responding to the #MeToo Social Media Campaign. In addition to being a law professor, Franks is the legislative and tech policy director of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative. She drafted the first model criminal statute on “revenge porn” and frequently works with legislators and tech companies to address technology-facilitated abuses.

“She’s a great speaker and she’s done great work. I don’t know how to take my academic work and make an impact in the real world. That’s what she can help me do.” Sweeny says of Franks. “I really appreciate the mentorship grant. I’m very grateful. It’s great for the law school and it’s great for me personally.”