Category: News

Overhaul of law around cyber-bullying urged [Irish Examiner, by Sarah Slater, 30/08/2014]

A radical overhaul of legislation around cyberbullying is needed as it is spiralling out of control, according to a leading law expert.

A recent survey by the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals found 16% of Irish students have experienced bullying online — a 33% increase on last year.

Up to 14% of students who took part in the recent first national study into bullying have admitted they have been cyber-bullied.

Researchers from the Anti-Bullying Centre at DCU have found that another 8% admitted to cyber-bullying others.

The study was carried out on a group of 2,700 students, aged from between 12 and 16, in eight post-primary schools late last year.

A further 39% of girls and 30% of boys reported that they had witnessed someone being cyber-bullied.

David Fagan, a health and safety law expert, believes it will take a “horrific case” of bulling or cyber-bullying before the State will implement new legislation around the issue.

“There is no specific legislation here which deals with this issue. Bullying and cyber-bullying need to be defined and penalties around such need to urgently be introduced here,” said Mr Fagan.

“There is all sorts of legislation here, such as the Children’s Act and Education Act, but the State doesn’t recognise bullying as a concept. Here you have to bring a personal injury case against someone which doesn’t specify bullying.

“Even schools and teachers don’t seem to realise how they could not be covered by appropriate legislation when it comes to dealing with this issue.

“We are way behind other countries when it comes to this worrying `issue. There was one case here which was brought under the Post Office Amendment Act of 1951 around one site and the use of telephone.

“But that legislation is so old. It is nuts that we are using archaic law. The law around this issue is based in the Stone Age and has not kept pace.”

Mr Fagan is speaking ahead of the first ever national conference on cyber-bullying, which is being held at Dublin Castle on Monday by the Bully4U organisation and the Anti Bullying Centre at Dublin City University (DCU).

The conference aims at educating and empowering parents, teachers and health professionals in providing support to victims and developing cyber-bullying prevention and intervention strategies.

There will be an international speaker line-up, including spokespeople from Facebook, Twitter and ASK.FM.

Jim Harding, founder of Bully4U which visits schools nationwide to provide training on the issue to schools, added: “Identifying threats and trends around cyber-bullying is so important.

“We need to equip professionals at the coal face to ‘understand and manage this cyber-bullying epidemic in our schools, clubs and digital playgrounds.

“An exchange of best practice about recognition, monitoring and prevention of harmful on-line communication and cyber-bullying, especially in schools and families in so badly needed.

“Specific recommendations to policy and decision makers at EU and government level has to happen now.”

Schools want modules to tackle cyberbullying scourge [Irish Indipendent, by Claire Mc Cormack, 01/09/2014]

A dedicated classroom module on cyberbullying should be introduced to tackle growing concerns at junior and senior levels, according to school principals.

Speaking at today’s National Cyberbullying Conference, school leaders will demand more government funding and training to combat the growing problem.

Clive Byrne, Director of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD), said a timetabled module on cyberbullying and the specific guidelines for concerned parents should be rolled out as part of the academic curriculum.

“Our schools can become pivotal to stamping out cyberbullying, provided both teachers and parents are equipped with the right tools and resources to identify and deal with cyberbullying,” he said.

Referring to their annual survey on cyberbullying, Mr Byrne highlighted an increase in student reports of being both victims and perpetrators.

Cyberbullying ‘at risk of spiralling out of control’ with 33pc rise in one year

The national survey, which also asked participants how schools should respond to the issue, found that 70pc said schools should ban smart phones, more than 60pc want a ban on social media, almost 80pc said students should be advised on internet safety and more than 70pc want school guidelines on cyberbullying.

Mr Byrne also urged school leaders to use their influential role in shaping the lives of young people to foster an environment of tolerance in secondary schools.

“NAPD research has consistently shown that parents want greater help with the problem of cyberbullying and look to schools and teachers to fill the information deficit which exists”, he said, adding the issue has impacted upon morale in schools across Ireland.

“The detrimental consequences of cyberbullying, on the lives of our young people in particular, mean that we can’t ignore the problem or fail to adequately resource it”, he said.

The conference, at Dublin Castle, will be co-hosted by Bully4u and the National Anti-Bullying Centre at Dublin City University.

Your Digital Life: Stop cyberbullying before it starts [WCNC, by Steven Petrow, 31/08/2014]

My daughter is starting middle school, and her friends are getting smartphones, iPods, laptops — all the tools that make it easier to communicate, do homework … and bully someone. I worry about this new school, where students who don’t know my child may target her because of her “different” style of dress or her haircut. I want to protect her from ridicule and gossip circulating on the Internet – and especially don’t want her to end up as another suicide statistic. What can I do?

– Name withheld

I don’t often get to trot out a Ben Franklin aphorism, but here goes: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” I’m glad you’re thinking ahead about the potential for your daughter to be a victim of cyberbullying; every parent should be so wise.

Earlier this year Janell Burley Hofmann, a mother of five, published iRules: What Every Tech Health Family Needs to Know about Selfies, Sexting, Gaming, and Growing Up. At the core of this amazingly useful book is what she calls the iRules contract, the agreement she and her husband negotiated with their then-13-year-old son. Among the 18 points, these three will lay the foundation for your prevention efforts:

  • It is my phone. I bought it. I pay for it. I am loaning it to you. Aren’t I the greatest?
  • I will always know the password.
  • Hand the phone to one of your parents promptly at 7:30 p.m. every school night and every weekend night at 9 p.m. It will be shut off for the night and turned on again at 7:30 a.m.

When it comes to cyberbullying, Hofmann calls upon parents to be both vigilant and resourceful. As she wrote: “Parents must talk to their children about it, ask them what they have seen, help them identify it, and encourage them to express their online challenges, problems, and conflicts with you.” More specifically, she calls upon moms and dads to teach their kids to “report, block, and delete” so-called friends long before a sour relationship turns into harassment or worse.”

Let me also remind you that most bullying takes place face-to-face, with cyberbullying only an add-on to what our kids may be experiencing in school. (Check out www.stopbullying.gov.) Fortunately, more and more schools are establishing anti-bullying rules and policies, with student codes of conduct and penalties for violators. As the new year begins, find out what those policies are in your daughter’s school. (If they don’t exist, talk to the principal about writing some.) Finally, encourage your daughter to be what’s known as an “upstander,” not a “bystander.” Teach her to speak up if she knows of anyone being bullied. Bullies thrive on fear and silence; we can’t give them that.

Country’s school principles demand that dangers of cyberbullying be put on the curriculum [Irish Mirror, by Pat Flanagan, 31/08/2014]

The country’s school principles today demanded that the dangers of cyberbullying be put on the curriculum.

The head teachers also want to extra funding and more training to tackle the growing problem which has led to students taking their own lives.

The National Cyberbullying Conference will hear today (MON) that this sort of intimidation is blighting the lives of young people and sapping teacher morale.

The National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD) has called for more funding and training for school leaders to tackle school bullying.

NAPD director, Clive Byrne said: “NAPD research has consistently shown that parents want greater help with the problem of cyberbullying and look to schools and teachers to fill the information deficit which exists.”

The school heads want a dedicated classroom module on cyberbullying as part of the Junior and Senior cycle curriculum.

They are also calling for an increase in the Department of Education’s budget to provide training to parents on cyberbullying.

The principals want to see the development of school guidelines to deal with the problem which can be used by parents if they have concerns that their child is being cyberbullied at school.

Clive Byrne added: “While the issue of cyberbullying has to be tackled in schools, homes and in the wider community, our schools have an important role to play, not least because of the amount of time which young people spend there.

“Our schools can become pivotal to stamping out cyberbullying, provided both teachers and parents are equipped with the right tools and resources to identify and deal with cyberbullying.

“Increased training for educators and parents is key to this objective. All resources in the education sector have been stretched in recent years.

“However, the detrimental consequences of cyberbullying on the lives of our young people in particular, means that we can’t ignore the problem or fail to adequately resource it.”

Mr Byrne also urged school leaders to use their influential role in shaping the lives of young people to foster an atmosphere of tolerance in secondary schools.

In his speech to the conference today he will outline the numerous ways school leaders can help in tackling cyberbullying which he admits has impacted upon morale in schools across the country.

Last February the NAPD commissioned a national survey on cyberbullying which showed an increase in students reporting being both the victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying compared to a similar survey conducted a year earlier.

The NAPD Cyberbullying Survey is carried out annually by and polls a thousand people across Ireland, including parents and children.

The survey also asked participants about what they think schools should do to respond to cyberbullying.

It found that 78% of those asked said schools must advise students on internet safety.

Another 71% wanted schools to ban smart phones while 63% wanted a ban on social media usage.

Teachers want cyber bullying on curriculum [Irish Examiner, by Catherine Shanahan, 01/09/2014]

Tackling the modern-day scourge of cyberbullying should be part of the school curriculum and more funding is needed to combat growing levels of online aggression, teachers have warned.

Such is the impact of cyberbullying on morale that school principals want a dedicated classroom module as part of the Junior and Senior cycle, although not as an exam topic.

The call comes from the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals, whose director Clive Byrne believes schools can play a pivotal role in stamping out online abuse if teachers and parents are given the right resources.

“Increased training for educators and parents is key to this objective. All resources in the education sector have been stretched in recent years,” said Mr Byrne. However, the detrimental consequences of cyberbullying on the lives of our young people in particular, means that we can’t ignore the problem or fail to adequately resource it.”

Research into cyberbullying suggests that it is likely to exacerbate already existing mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression. In 2012, cyberbullying was suggested as a factor in the suicides of three teenage girls in Ireland.

Mr Byrne’s call for greater resources to identify and deal with the growing incidence of online aggression will be aired today at a national conference on cyberbullying at Dublin Castle entitled ‘Understanding and Managing Cyber Bullying’.

Mr Byrne is specifically asking for an increase in the Department of Education’s budget to provide training to parents on cyberbullying and the development of school guidelines which can be utilised by parents.

Last year, the department awarded €60,000 to provide training sessions for parents in how to deal with the internet threat but the NAPD said this was “a drop in the ocean” in terms of what was needed.

Mr Byrne said NAPD research “has consistently shown that parents want greater help with the problem of cyberbullying” and that they “look to schools and teachers to fill the information deficit which exists”. In this context, more funding and training was needed for school leaders, he said.

A NAPD survey carried out earlier this year found 78% of respondents felt schools should advise students on internet safety. More than 70% wanted schools to ban smart phones, 63% wanted a ban on social media usage and 73% wanted school guidelines on cyberbullying.

In May this year, the Government-commissioned Report of the Internet Content Governance Advisory Group recommended the establishment of an inter-agency working group to identify “appropriate mechanisms to ensure that internet safety and digital literacy skills are taught as a core element of the curriculum at both primary and post-primary levels”. It also recommended that further support be given to training directed at parents.

Today’s conference will hear from a range of experts in the areas of child protection, psychology, education and law. Liva Biseniece, director of external relations with controversial online social network site Ask.fm, will also address the cyberbullying conference.

Dulux seeks law firm’s help over employee bullying claims [Herald Sun, by John Dagge, 01/09/2014]

DULUXGROUP has hired a legal firm to investigate allegations of long-term workplace bullying in one of its key business units.

Australia’s largest paint maker has hired M+K Lawyers to investigate complaints from several employees that they were bullied by a senior manager based at the company’s Melbourne headquarters.

The claims, lodged at separate times, extend back some three years and the external investigation was ordered after the issue was brought to the board’s attention by an employee, BusinessDaily understands.

Some employees who lodged complaints have since left the company.

The manager accused of bullying works in a division that makes specialised products.

That division, which employees about 55 people, has experienced far higher staff turnover than other Dulux business with a number of senior sales representatives leaving the company amid claims of bullying, BusinessDaily has been told.

It is also understands complaints were lodged with the Dulux human resources department.

M+K Lawyers specialise in commercial law for mid-tier companies.

Dulux corporate affairs manager Lisa Walters said while it was not appropriate to comment on individual cases, the company did not tolerate bullying.

“On successive anonymous employee surveys DuluxGroup has ranked among the highest-performing companies globally in terms of the care and concern it shows for employees, and providing a workplace where people feel respected,” she said in a statement.

Dulux declined to respond to more detailed questions on the matter.

Earlier this year, the company reported an 88 per cent jump in net profit to $60 million for the six months to March, up from $32 million a year earlier.

Dulux has been listed on the Australian Stock Exchange since July 2010, when it was spun out of explosives and chemicals group Orica.

New School Year, Time for a Bullying Alert with NoBullying [PRWeb, 01/09/2014]

The new school year is upon us and for every parent a new school year could also mean brushing back in with school bullying. It is time for parents and educators to understand what bullying could lead to for children before it is too late, all with NoBullying´s guide to School bullying this year, released today.

It is first to be noted that bullying is not mere teasing or “kids’ play.” Especially if the child is new at school, bullies are, sadly, everywhere and they have various methods of bullying to intimidate and push down other children.

The bullies’ actions may start out as simple teasing, but over time verbal harassment can lead to physical harm. This alone can have severe consequences for both the bully and the target.

Even if it is verbal, bullying is an expression of violence in its purest form. Bullying can progress to being physical, thus harming the bully, the victim and the bystanders involved.

But what could the acts of bullying lead to? Bullying could often lead to a variety of symptoms and actions for the bully and the victim.

Children who are victims of bullying are inflicted by violence in a physical sense that is done subtly by the bully to escape punishment from teachers. Some children at school could face hitting, tripping, pushing, slapping, or even their belongings destroyed. If a child is coming home with unexplained injuries, damaged clothing or lost/damaged possessions or even any signs of stress, parents need to step in right away.

Those who are present when a bully is causing harm to his or her intended target may also be affected by what is witnessed. Bystanders may be affected by what they see or hear, which could have long lasting psychological consequences, even as adults. Children who witness the bullying of their friends are most likely to experiment with smoking, drugs, alcohol or delve into promiscuous activities, even leading in some cases to teenage pregnancy.

It may not seem directly related but bullying and acts of unkindness could have serious consequences on a child’s or teen’s ability to make correct decisions. They may delve into these things to get on the good side of the bully, including running away from home.

It is also to be highlighted that more than 3.2 million students fall victim to bullying every year and that one in four teachers do nothing because they see there is nothing wrong with bullying. This is a serious call for parents to take note of bullying in school and learn how to stand up to it properly.

Ciaran Connolly, Co-Founder of NoBullying.com, said, “With the new school year upon us, we need to keep fighting bullying in school. It takes the entire community to end bullying in school.”

He added that parents and teachers should make a point to educate the younger generations about the sad outcome of bullying online and offline. According to Connolly, it is quite imperative to press for more firm laws condemning all acts of bullying and harassment.

NoBullying.com features many pages dedicated to parents, teens, teachers, health professionals as well as posts related to cyber safety and the latest news about law making concerning curbing Bullying worldwide as well as inspirational Bullying Poems and famous Bullying Quotes.

The website regularly updates its bullying statistics and cyber bullying statistics as it is essential to understand how widespread the bullying epidemic is. It also regularly runs cyber bullying surveys and questionnaires to get recent updated statistics on everything related to cyberbullying.

He also added that anyone suffering from bullying in any form or way can always find advice and help on the NoBullying website – but if anyone is suffering from severe bullying or cyber bullying, the best thing is to talk to someone locally – a parent, teacher or local organization that has been set up to help with specialized councilors to deal with this topic.

VIDEO Fine parents of children who cyberbully- counsellor [Irish Indipendent, 02/09/2014]

Kevin Deering, senior facilitator with Bully4u, said he would welcome “some form” of financial penalty being introduced.

He stressed that its main focus should be to curb the “insidious” nature of cyberbullying.

Mr Deering, a counsellor and a retired garda with over 30 years service, said the scale of the problem was such that “severe sanctions” for repeat offenders were required.

He suggested the introduction of financial penalties would “focus the minds” of those pupils and parents who refuse to meaningfully engage with school authorities.

He proposed penalties of between €50 and €100.

“You have to up the ante with reoffenders; somebody has to take responsibility,” he told the Irish Independent.

He said the long-term effects of cyberbullying on mental health must be considered.

“It’s about learning from behaviour – if somebody doesn’t learn, there has to be sanctions. Parents are responsible for their children if they’re under 18 so educating the parents is crucial,” Mr Deering added.

VIDEO

Cyber Bullying Statistics States That Over 1 In 3 Young People Have Experienced Cyber Threats [KDrama Stars, by denise Garcia, 01/09/2014]

Cyber bullying according to Stopbullying.gov “is bullying that takes place using electronic technology”. This includes devices like computers and cell phones, and communication tools like social media sites and chat.

iSafe Foundation reported that “more than one in three young people has experienced cyber threats online and that over 25 percent of adolescents and teens have been bullied repeatedly through their cell phones or the Internet.” This only shows that this is a serious concern among teenagers.

There are a lot of ways to fight against cyber bullies:

Ignore the message and block the user.

Do not respond – act as if you do not care. Showing this bully that you are not affected at all will make him feel powerless and without control of the situation. Block the user, change your mobile number or create a new social media account to prevent the person from making another ‘attack’. You may also consider deleting all your social media accounts, if it will make your life more peaceful.

Do not answer back. It may only worsen the circumstance. Relax. Share your problem with your family to unload yourself of the emotional burden. They can even offer you help.

Do other things – stay away from the computer or your mobile phone.

There are times like this that you should keep yourself from using the computer or your mobile phone. Busy yourself with other offline activities like playing your favorite sport with your friends. It is not easy; it actually takes a lot of courage but you can do it if you try hard. Surround yourself with happy persons.

Report the cyber bullying to the webmaster and others.

Ask help from the webmaster, mobile service provider, and Internet server. Send an email that tells your request for the removal of the item.

Look for a support group.

There are organizations or community groups that reach out to people that are victims of cyber bullying. Seek help from one of them. It can give you advices on how to manage Internet bullies. It can also guide you on how and when to seek legal assistance.

Twitter chief highlights user role in tackling cyberbullying [The irish Times, by Rachel Flaherty, 02/09/2014]

The best ways to stop the “disturbing” trend of cyberbullying were discussed at a major conference in Dublin yesterday.

The head of global safety outreach and public policy for Twitter said the company’s goal to stop abuse on the site was to empower the user to protect themselves.

However, Patricia Cartes said the reason “eggheads” – accounts with no names or description of who the person is – were allowed was because it was in line with the company’s freedom-of-speech approach.

“There are areas in the world where using the internet is not safe,” she said.

Ms Cartes said as the company did not collect dates of birth, they did not know what ages their users were.

Taking action

“If an account is reported, we will take action on that account,” she said.

Ms Cartes was asked by a member of the audience why the minimum age for social media use should not be increased from 13 years to 18 years.

“Restricting access to under 18s would be a mistake. There are some really positive uses of technology out there,” she said.

Facebook’s director of policy for UK, Middle East and Africa Simon Milner said users had to use their real name on its site but they could not stop people under the minimum age of 13 from setting up accounts.

Proof of age

He said the company took action when an account was reported and Facebook could ask the user to prove their age.

“We know we don’t always get it right, but we have established what are known as ‘Insafe’ helplines around Europe to help,” he said.

He said removing people’s comments or photographs was a “complicated area” as people had the right to express themselves.

“We operate a zero tolerance to bullying and harassment,” he said. “With regard to anonymity, users have to use their real name, if not, we will ask the user to take it down or we can have it blocked.”

Founder of the Digital Youth Council and Kidtech Harry McCann, who had asked a question from the audience about what Facebook could do to stop underage children from using the site, said his question had not been answered.

“It really made me feel that Facebook are taking the lazy approach to ensuring that they are sticking to the guidelines they have laid down. It is simply not good enough,” he said.

Senior facilitator at Bully4u Kevin Deering said children as young as seven and eight were on Facebook.

“I met one little girl who came up to me after a workshop to say she didn’t realise her behaviour was bullying behaviour,” he said.

Cyberbullying

“We need a unified approach from parents, parents council, teachers, young people to tackle cyberbullying and bullying.”

MEP Seán Kelly, a former teacher and GAA president who opened the conference, said young people did not have the life experience to cope with threats and harassment online.

“Cyberbullying is a disturbing trend . . . an epidemic that is growing rapidly,” he said.

National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals director Clive Byrne said that banning smartphones from school was not a solution to cyberbullying.

“It would only drive the issue underground,” he said.

Mr Byrne said all the internet service providers needed to “do more” to stop cyberbullying.

Health and safety law expert David Fagan said specialised legislation for cyberbullying was needed.

“In all instances of bullying, it should be reported to the gardaí.”

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(Facebook’s Simon Milner, MEP Seán Kelly MEP, special rapporteur on child protection Geoffrey Shannon and Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw)