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Unplugging the cyber bullies

The Daily Telegraph
OPINION
13 November 2009

FINDING something offensive on the internet is never more than one click away. But hopefully we are not far from ridding ourselves from at least one of its more distasteful aspects - the spectacle of schoolyard bullying.

A series of recommendations by a committee of the NSW Legislative Council has called for new offences to be introduced targeting those who incite, film or even cheer on or watch schoolyard bashings.

In recent years the web has become a dumping ground for all kinds of ghoulish schoolyard fight clubs and other forms of reprehensible bullying.

Bystanders upload vision within moments of a schoolground or local park incident in what has become a cheap and crude form of voyeurism that further belittles and adds to the pain of the victim.

These so-called fight clubs have already been involved in the death of at least one student in Sydney.

Under these latest recommendations, it would be an offence to film such fights and distribute the vision via the internet or mobile phone.

As the committee pointed out, the increasing incidents of cyber-bullying often have a far more profound impact on the victim because of its ability to reach into the private life of the sufferer.

That bullying is endemic in our schools and communities is beyond doubt.

And our children are already awash in a sea of programs that explain the long-lasting harm bullying can have on others.

But lecturing and awareness can only go so far. It's time to ensure that cyber-bullying is relegated to a place more than just a click away.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/unplugging-the-cyber-bullies/story-e6frezz0-1225797100406