Our Origins

Cyber Protectors was founded when policy fellow of Esperanza United, Heidy Castillo decided to research gender-based violence in the digital realm. She spent a few weeks researching online harassment— all of the legal and academic definitions, laws, and studies on this GBV issue. Castillo found insufficient data and decided to launch an online reporting center to document the incidents of online harassment in digital media.

In July 2024, Castillo with the help of Esperanza United launched Cyber Protectors, where everyone (specifically women) could share their experiences with gender-based violence in digital media — especially online harassment without divulging personal information or engaging with law enforcement.

We hope our page can go viral. In the following time, we hope to receive and analyze hundreds of reports from across the U.S. People of all ages, genders, and ethnicities can share incidents of online harassment, physical harm, gender-based violence, cyber crimes, and more.