Policy
- It is a duty of maintaining a safe workplace that veterinarians and veterinary practices should have in place resources, training and policies to manage distress to veterinary team members from online abuse.
- Members of the public and media organisations must address their concerns directly with the relevant practice or business, or through the appropriate regulatory mechanisms, in a respectful manner.
Purpose
- To provide member guidance and resources to assist with managing the impacts of online abuse.
- To advocate for respectful engagement by members of the public through appropriate channels.
Background
Abuse via the use of media is not new in Australia and has been occurring for many years. With the rapid expansion of social media platforms and popularity, this problem has grown exponentially.
Safe Work Australia defines “Online abuse” as behaviour that uses technology to threaten, intimidate, bully, harass or humiliate someone. It is sometimes referred to as cyber abuse or technology-facilitated abuse (Safe Work Australia, n.d.). It can lead to severe mental health issues in a veterinary team including possible suicide.
Online abuse can take place through online platforms such as social media, search engine reviews, online chat, and messaging services, by telephone (calls and text messages), email or any other technology used at work.
Online abuse at work might come from customers, clients, anonymously or members of the public, but it can also happen between workers, supervisors and managers. It may also happen away from the workplace such as when a worker is working from home. Threats of negative reviews or adverse publicity constitute abuse.
The rise of online rating programs like Yelp® and Google® have further exacerbated the problem. When clients are unhappy with a veterinarian (even if the veterinarian has tried their best), the veterinarian becomes vulnerable to cyberbullying through use of these rating tools.
Cyberbullying can have emotional and psychological effects on veterinarians and veterinary teams. Receiving hurtful or derogatory messages and poor ratings (or death threats) online can lead to anxiety, depression, and stress. Veterinarians may feel overwhelmed by the constant negativity, leading to adverse mental health outcomes, including suicide (Chan, 2019).
Cyberbullying can damage a veterinarian’s professional reputation. False or misleading information can spread quickly, making it challenging to maintain trust with clients and even colleagues (Mandlik & Larkin, 2014). Veterinarians may feel isolated and unsupported when dealing with online harassment. The fear of additional cyberbullying may deter them from seeking help or discussing their experiences with peers.
Research shows 1 in 2 vets in clinical practice experienced online abuse in 2021 (BVA). The most common type of online abuse reported was unfair reviews (90%), and vets who experienced online abuse were more likely to consider leaving the profession within five years (29%) compared to those who had not experienced abuse (9%) (BVA, 2022). A survey of the profession in the USA reported 25% of respondents had experienced loss of staff as a result of cyberbullying (Teller, 2023; Volk et al., 2020).
The BVA has a campaign “‘Respect your vet team – end abuse” and as part of that they developed a guide featuring practical tips on how to protect veterinary staff from online abuse. The guide features information on reporting abuse to social media platforms, how to escalate issues, advice on social media house rules, and practical tips on how to protect veterinary staff from online abuse. The toolkit includes downloadable posters, graphics and a series of blogs. BVA is also working with Vetlife, a charity that supports the veterinary community, to tackle the effect of abuse on mental health and wellbeing, to develop further resources.
The AVMA have developed a “Reputation Management Toolkit” to similarly assist veterinarians to manage cyberbullying and abuse in the workplace.
The AVA has developed the THRIVE initiative, which is underpinned by the AVA’s policy on ‘Safeguarding and improving the mental health of the veterinary team’. THRIVE aims to support veterinarians and veterinary staff by taking action to moderate work demands linked to occupational stress, as well as improving individual and team wellbeing in the veterinary workplace.
Recommendations
- In the event of a case of cyberbullying practices should take comprehensive steps to follow guidelines developed by SafeWork Australia which include resources and reporting frameworks (eSafety Commissioner, n.d.).
- Veterinarians are encouraged to make use of the AVA’s 24-hour support and counselling services to support veterinary teams through incidents.
- The AVA should continue to develop further veterinary specific resources, such as standard wording to use in response to social media abuse.
- The AVA should continue to advocate for public education around the provision and cost of veterinary care and respectful engagement.
Other relevant policies and position statements
Resources
AVMA Reputation Management Toolkit: https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/practice-management/reputation
BVA Guide to tackling Online Abuse in the Veterinary Sector: https://www.bva.co.uk/resources-support/misc-resources/bva-guide-to-tackling-online-abuse-in-the-veterinary-sector/
eSafety Commissioner: https://www.esafety.gov.au/key-topics/workplace-bullying-and-harassment/workers
Workplace_online_abuse_workers.pdf (safeworkaustralia.gov.au)
AVA THRIVE Resources: https://www.ava.com.au/Thrive/Prevent-Promote-Protect-resources-and-support-services/
AVA Counselling services: https://www.ava.com.au/Thrive/how-we-help-you/ava-telephone-counselling-service/
References
BVA. (2022). BVA calls on animal owners to ‘think before they type’ as statistics show 1 in 2 vets exposed to online abuse. British Veterinary Association. https://www.bva.co.uk/news-and-blog/news-article/bva-calls-on-animal-owners-to-think-before-they-type-as-statistics-show-1-in-2-vets-exposed-to-online-abuse/
Chan, M. (2019). Veterinarians Face Unique Issues That Make Suicide One Of The Profession’s Big Worries. TIME. https://time.com/5670965/veterinarian-suicide-help/
eSafety Commissioner. (n.d.). Online Bullying at Work: Advice for Workers. Retrieved August 29, 2025, from https://www.esafety.gov.au/key-topics/workplace-bullying-and-harassment/workers
Mandlik, R., & Larkin, M. (2014). FIGHTING THE CYBERBULLY. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 245(10), 1068–1073.
Safe Work Australia. (n.d.). Online abuse in the workplace. Retrieved August 29, 2025, from https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/safety-topic/hazards/workplace-violence-and-aggression/online-abuse-workplace
Teller, L. (2023). Helping the veterinary profession combat cyberbullying. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 261(4), 449-. https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.261.4.449
Volk, J. O., Schimmack, U., Strand, E. B., Vasconcelos, J., & Siren, C. W. (2020). Executive summary of the Merck Animal Health Veterinarian Wellbeing Study II. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 256(11), 1237–1244. https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.256.11.1237