What Is Cyber Bullying

Blacktown schools combat cyber bullying

Glenwood High School and Patrician Brothers' College have programs to stop it from reaching the reported high level at several schools in the northern beaches.

The Sydney Morning Herald last week reported that thousands of Sydney school students are using social networking sites such as Facebook for sexual slander and cyberbullying.

Glenwood High's "cyber anti-bully firewall" is supported by principal Erla McMaster, deputy principals Lance Berry and Belinda Young, school captain Felicity Legge, and vice-captains Vahishta Bhasin and Andrew Sparks.

Ms McMaster, whose school has 1400 students and 125 staff including 100 teachers and three youth counsellors, said the school's 15 prefects run its anti-bullying program very effectively.

She said they worked with its P&C group president Neville Shields, Quakers Hill police, youth centre counsellors and Emma Guy, the teacher-in-charge of Cyber Awareness program.

Mr Berry said the prefects' program was so successful that 35 students, of whom 16 would be selected to become next year's prefects, were now being trained to continue it.

"Their program got through to most students better than our former one," he said.

Felicity Legge said their program encouraged students to inform them when they were picked on by bullies either physically or on Facebook.

"We have received more than 800 pledges of support," she said.

Ms Bhasin, a bullying victim when she was about 12, said a former primary school friend had slandered her by email when she moved to high school.

"I didn't know what to do at that time. Luckily my parents spoke to her parents and the matter was stopped," she said.

Patrician Brothers' principal Santo Passarello, Parents Forum members Kim Antonelli and Pauline Field and school captain Cameron Lock want its 1100 students to ensure social networking sites are used for common good.

Mr Passarello said their parents should help by supervising them at home.

"It's like learning to drive properly — a ban wouldn't solve the problem," he said.

Mrs Antonelli and Mrs Field said they placed their children's computers in the family room instead of the bedroom to ensure they were not up to any mischief.

Cyberbullying: When Should You Take Legal Action? — iKeepSafe

Guest post by Noah Lang of ReputationDefender, Inc.

While many parents consider cyberbullies a less serious online threat to their kids than sexual predators, cyberbullying can have a negative affect on your kids’ online and offline development, and parents should remain aware of their options. Do you know what you would do if your son or daughter was being anonymously harassed on MySpace or Facebook? What kind of legal recourse could you take, if any?

This past August, former model Liskula Cohen made headline news when she won a lawsuit against Google, forcing the company to reveal the name of an anonymous blogger that had called her a "skank" online (among other not-so-kind words). A recent article in the New York Post suggests that victims of cyberbullying, both children and adults, have begun rallying around Cohen’s success and fighting back against their attackers by filing similar lawsuits. The question is, is this a realistic option when it comes to youth cyberbullying?

At ReputationDefender, we believe that a parent’s time is better spent on preventing future cyberbullying than on litigation. That’s one of the reasons ReputationDefender developed MyChild , to help parents monitor what their kids are doing online and resolve any problems before they propagate into offline issues. But in some cases, if your son or daughter is the victim of a particularly hurtful cyberbullying attack, you may want to contact an attorney to discuss your legal options.

Before you decide to retain an attorney, do your homework. First, do your best to determine the bully’s identity—ask your child if he or she knows who is responsible. If that fails, contact your child’s school. The school may be able to help you determine whether your son or daughter has been having any problems with other students, and may even be able to resolve the online issue for you. Schools and colleges can typically offer you a second layer of protection and resolution.

Next, consider the long-term costs of retaining an attorney. Although Ms. Cohen had success in forcing Google to reveal her attacker, it took her almost a year before she made any progress in the case. The legal bills can add up quickly. Parents should also consider whether the potential benefits of a lawsuit outweigh the emotional toll it could take on their son or daughter. Legal action may intensify the cyberbullying in the short term, which could be detrimental to your life, as well as your child’s.

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