Right: In May this year the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy announced the establishment of a Youth Advisory Group, consisting of young Australians, to advise on cyber-bullying and other online issues.
.
Arguments suggesting that Australia is doing sufficient to prevent cyber bullying
1. Certain types of cyber bullying are an offence under the Crimes Act and other criminal provisionsLawyer James Newman says the act of cyber bullying could result in criminal charges. Mr Newman has stated, 'There can be offences against the Commonwealth Crimes Act for things all the way from threats to kill down to simply harassment. If that harassment, threats to injure, threats to kill occur over telecommunications equipment, those students can be exposing themselves to criminal charges.'
There are some laws which cover the most aggressive forms of cyber-bullying. In cases where bullying involves a threat to kill or seriously injure a person, state-based criminal legislation can be used to lay criminal charges against bullies.
In addition, under the NSW Crimes Act it is a criminal offence to harass or intimidate a school student while the student is at school.
The Commonwealth Criminal Code sets out an offence of using a carriage service (such as a mobile phone service or the internet) in a way that is menacing, harassing or offensive. The maximum penalty for committing the offence is 3 years imprisonment.
Some state governments have specifically expanded the scope of the off-line harassment laws to cover online activities.
In Victoria, for example, the stalking provisions of the Crimes Act could extend to catch cyber-bullies who post information about a victim on the internet, intending the post to cause mental harm to the victim, or to cause the victim to fear for his or her safety.
Anti defamation laws may offer some redress to victims about whom false statements have been published online as may laws preventing harassment of individuals on the basis of race, region and sexual orientation.
2. All school's have anti-bullying policies, which include policies against cyber bullying and run education programs to curb cyber bullying
It is generally considered that the most effective weapons for combating cyber-bullying are education programs and a commitment by schools to implement and enforce anti bullying policies. Such education programs include continuing education of teachers and schools about changes in technology and the potential for technology to be used by cyber-bullies.
They also include educating students about cyber-bullying - why not to do it and how to deal with it; and educating parents about technology so they can understand what their kids are doing online and can talk to them about it.
The South Australian Education Department has released the following account of the action its schools have taken to protect students against cyber bullying:
'What schools are doing to protect children
Research shows schools are one of the safest environments for your child. Cyber bullying has been found to occur more often outside of school...
Most schools have clear guidelines about internet access, mobile phone use and student behaviour such as bullying...
Schools use filters to guard against students accessing inappropriate material. As filters are not 100% effective, schools can block additional sites if necessary...
Department of Education and Children's Services (DECS), Catholic Education South Australia and
Association of Independent Schools of SA are developing initiatives in their respective sectors.'
3. Schools offer counselling and other forms of support to students who have suffered cyber bullying
Schools offer counselling support to students encountering problems; this includes students who have been targeted by cyber bullies.
NSW Education Minister, Verity Firth, has said, 'Public schools deal with it in a very similar way to how private schools do. All school sectors deal with cyber-bullying as a serious offence, and as something that needs to be fixed. We have both disciplinary powers but we also use, as we do with all bullying, counselling powers as well.'
In Western Australia the following situation is meant to apply, 'Teachers need to become familiar with these technologies that students use so confidently, so that they can recognise the issues and raise them with their students.
The Curriculum Framework provides the context:Students recognise that everyone has the right to feel valued and be safe, and, in this regard, understand their rights and obligations and behave responsibly...
This outcome elaboration goes on to say students should 'respect the rights of others to equal access to resources and to a work and leisure environment which is non-threatening and free from harassment such as teasing, sarcasm or remarks that stereotype or denigrate others or their efforts.'
Among the standard supports usually given are the following:
Ensure the student is safe and arrange support, including the involvement of student wellbeing. Support from student wellbeing staff should be provided on an ongoing basis with the agreement of the student and parent/carer to assist the student to work through the effects of the cyber bullying and to help them develop and implement effective coping strategies.
Contact the student's parents to alert them to the issue, and ongoing concerns regarding the welfare of the student, and request a meeting to discuss the issue and how best to deal with it.
Reassure the student that the school is taking the incident seriously and that the reported bullying will be acted on.
Gather basic facts about the suspected cyber bullying and, if possible, identify the students involved.
Implement appropriate procedures to address the bullying using evidence-based responses such as restorative justice approaches to conflict resolution. These approaches seek to address bullying issues while providing support to both the victim and the bully. This approach to strengthen the school community and respect individuals. Examples of evidence-based approaches to address bullying are provided at Bullying. No Way!.
Bear in mind that advising students to completely disengage from their online activities is not always helpful as this can also isolate them from supportive friends.'
Beyond Blue's Internet site notes, 'If you are feeling very upset by it, it's also a good idea to consider counselling to make sure you're okay. You can talk to your school counsellor about it. It's important to do everything you can to put a stop to it because if the cyber bully is particularly nasty and persistent and a person lets it go on, in rare cases, it has lead to self-harm or suicide.'
4. The extent of cyber-bullying and the threat it poses have been exaggerated
It has been claimed that the media and other groups are overstating the extent and the impact of cyber-bullying. Larry Magid, in an opinion piece published on July 17, 2009, on SafeKids.Com, has stated, 'The first things you need to know about cyber-bullying are that it's not an epidemic and it's not killing our children. Yes, it's probably one of the more widespread youth risks on the Internet and yes there are some well publicized cases of cyber-bullying victims who have committed suicide, but let's look at this in context.
Bullying has always been a problem among adolescents and, sadly, so has suicide. In the few known cases of suicide after cyber bullying, there are other contributing factors. That's not to diminish the tragedy or suggest that the cyber-bullying didn't play a role but - as with all online youth risk, we need to look at what else was going on in the child's life. Even when a suicide or other tragic event doesn't occur, cyber-bullying is often accompanied by a pattern of offline bullying and sometimes there are other issues including long-term depression, problems at home, and self-esteem issues...
Partly because there is no single accepted definition of cyber-bullying, the extent of the problem is all over the map. I've seen some reports claim that up to 80 percent of online youth have experienced cyber-bullying, while two national studies have put the percentage closer to one-third. A UCLA study conducted in 2008 found that 41 percent of teens surveyed reported between one and three online bullying incidents over the course of a year.
A recent study by Cox Communications came up with lower numbers, finding that approximately 19 percent of teens say they've been cyber-bullied online or via text message and 10 percent say they've cyber-bullied someone else.'
Colin Jacobs, the vice-chair of Electronic Frontiers Australia, says research shows that bullying is more of a problem offline. Mr Jacobs has stated, 'Cyber bullying occurs alongside everyday offline bullying - which is probably still more of a problem - but nevertheless cyber bullying is quite common.'
5. The federal government is proposing a range of provisions which will reduce opportunities for cyber bullying
In May, 2009, the federal government announced it had established a Youth Advisory Group, consisting of young Australians, to advise it on cyber-bullying and other online issues.
The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, stated that a group of 305 young Australians would be advising the Government on online issues such as cyber-bullying.
Senator Conroy stated, 'Young people are at the leading edge of online experience and can provide valuable advice on emerging problems such as cyber-bullying, invasions of privacy and illegal content.
The Youth Advisory Group is a unique opportunity for young people to contribute to policy development by advising the Government on cyber-safety concerns and solutions...
The National Broadband Network will herald a revolution in education, providing new opportunities for students, teachers and parents across the country. The Government is interested in fostering a safe online environment and helping develop responses to internet risks," Senator Conroy said.
A safe online environment helps develop digital confidence, increasing the opportunities for people to benefit from online services.'
The Rudd Government has stated that it recognises that there is no single solution to the problem of online risks and that a range of measures is required.
The Youth Advisory Group is one part of the Government's $125.8 million cyber-safety plan announced in May 2008, which includes a comprehensive range of measures such as: law enforcement, including 91 extra Australian Federal Police officers; education and information measures; resources such as help-lines and websites; ISP content filtering; consultative arrangements with industry and child protection bodies; and research to identify possible areas for further action.
In July, the Australian Communications and Media Authority launched a new Cybersmart Web site that offers resources for teachers, parents and students to address cyber safety issues.