Australian Cyberbullying Incidents Double In One Year
The office of the eSafety Commissioner in Australia has responded to growing concerns about cyberbullying and online safety by providing educational resources for parents and teachers through their website and investing over 1.3M AUD into a nationwide Online Safety Program for Schools. If you are affected by cyberbullying, follow the links throughout this article to our various support services.
A recent survey in Australia has revealed a two-fold increase in reported cyberbullying incidents of children between the ages of 14-16. The survey, carried out by Australian mental health support organization ReachOut Australia, showed that among 14-16 year olds, reported cyberbullying has doubled in the last 12 months from 18 to 36 percent, and that among 17-19 year olds, 43 percent of the bullying they had experienced was carried out online.
Nichols went on to say that one of the key reasons for the sharp rise in online bullying was the increasing number of platforms and the advancing technologies made available to young people. Nichols mentioned Fortnite, a new online video game that has taken Australia by storm and has a built-in chat facility, describing such advances in gaming as ‘an expanding risk-base’ that parents need to be more aware of, and also stating that “Cyberbullying is the leading concern of Australian parents.”
“We are seeing that is this an issue that is not getting any better and we are really calling on the government and industry to really say ‘time’s up’. We have got to get serious about this and we have got to tackle it now.”
Jono Nicholas, CEO, ReachOut
Jono Nicholas is leading the call for more to be done in making online spaces safer for children and has asked for national safety standards that will make the perpetrators accountable to be implemented in the face of rising numbers of incidents and the increasing advances in digital technologies. Advice and support for worried parents is also an ongoing issue that leading voices in Australian cyber safety are concerned about.
“It is essential that parents have guidance and support to help them address the online risks that their children are facing. Targeted education is also important and can help children become more confident and resilient when dealing with problems online.”
Dan Raisbeck, Co-Founder, The Cybersmile Foundation
The office of the eSafety Commissioner in Australia has responded to concerns by providing educational resources for parents and teachers through their website, and have also invested over 1.3M AUD into a nationwide Online Safety Program for Schools.
If you or your family are affected by any kind of cyberbullying or online abuse we can help. Visit our Cyberbullying and Online Abuse Help Center or learn more about our Total Access Support and how we can best help you with your particular situation. For more information about Cybersmile and our work, please explore the recommendations below.
- Who Are Cybersmile?
- People We’ve Helped!
- What We Do
- The Cybersmile Conversation (Allow a few seconds to load, but worth the wait!)
- Survey Reveals Parents Ignoring Their Own Advice When Sharing Images Online
- Cybersmile And Claire’s Announce International Campaign For Bullying Prevention Month
- Global Support Service
- Cybersmile Campaigns
- Stop Cyberbullying Day 2018 Highlights
- Cybersmile Wins Gold At Cannes Lions 2018 For Body Positivity Campaign
- Teenagers Guide To Cyberbullying
- Cybersmile Launch Mental Health Resource
- Cybersmile Newsroom
- Corporate Partnership Program
- Become A Cybersmile Sustainer
What do you think needs to be done to reduce the growing problem of cyberbullying? Share your thoughts by contacting us or tweet us @CybersmileHQ.
