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Cyber bullying is when a child or teenager is threatened, harassed or humiliated using the internet. (Reuters: Thierry Roge)
The Australian Human Rights Commission says in the world of the web, cyber bullying is an abuse of human rights.
Cyber bullying is when a child or teenager is threatened, harassed or humiliated by another child or teenager using the internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones.
Catherine Branson QC, the president of the Australian Human Rights Commission, says the damage caused by cyber bullying can last a lifetime.
"Cyber bullying can affect large numbers of people and can intimidate them and in some cases leave them with lasting emotional damage," she said.
"We know that in particular it can affect young people through social networking sites and indeed through their mobiles phones."
So serious is the issue that the Commission has established a partnership with the Child Health Promotion Research Centre at Edith Cowen University to develop a new anti-cyber bullying campaign.
"What we're particularly anxious to do is to partner with real experts in the field and develop a campaign that young people will have been involved in developing from the very beginning, to get a campaign that young people will identify with, that they will understand and that they feel is right for them," Ms Branson said.
Ms Branson hopes the campaign will equip young people with the skills to tackle cyber bullying.
"We hope [to] develop innovative new anti-cyber bullying strategies for young people but we know that there are important things already that can be done - refusing to play the bullying game oneself is important, speaking with your friends that you won't be involved in bullying, you won't re-transmit bullying or harassing messages," she said.
"If someone is being bullied who seeks your help, go with them to someone in authority that can provide the help.
"Simple steps like that can really make a difference."
The Child Health Promotion Research Centre at Edith Cowan University studied the strategies being used by schools, families and students to combat the effects of cyber bullying.
Dr Laura Thomas, a senior researcher with the centre, says young people want to get involved with the program.
"There's a great deal of young people who are bystanders to cyber bullying situations," she said.
"I think that young people are much better at this than we give them credit for. I think they really do want to get involved. It's just that they don't know how to do so.
"So we need to give them strategies, not just about what they need to do but how they can go about it. And they're really motivated when young people themselves come up with those ideas."
The Australian Human Rights Commission hopes the partnership will become a major force in countering the adverse impacts and often irreparable damage caused by cyber bullying.
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/28/3255965.htm
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