Government plans to tackle 'cyberbullies'

New guidelines to help schools, parents and pupils prevent and tackle 'cyberbullying' have been announced by the government.

The guidelines, announced by Schools Minister Jim Knight, came as research published by the Anti-Bullying Alliance identified seven types of cyberbullying, ranging from abusive text messages, emails and phone calls to bullying in internet chatrooms, social networking sites and instant messaging.

The research also revealed that up to one in five pupils have experienced some form of cyberbullying, with girls more likely to be subject to such bullying, especially via text messages and phone calls, than boys. However, the Anti-Bullying Alliance also found that a third of victims never reported cyberbullying.

The new guidelines sets out steps that schools, parents and pupils can take to prevent cyberbullying and deal firmly with incidents where they occur. These include:

• Mandatory anti-bullying policies for schools;
• Monitoring all e-communications used at schools;
• Ensuring that children's parents understand how to use technology safely;
• Advising young people not to respond to abusive emails and keeping material as evidence;
• Young people keeping to public areas of chatrooms and never giving out personal contact details online or posting photographs.

Parents of bullies would also face court-imposed parenting orders to compel parents of bullies to attend parenting classes or face £1,000 fines.

Mr Knight said: "No child should suffer the misery of bullying, online or offline, and we will support schools in tackling it in cyberspace with the same vigilance as in the playground.

"Unlike other forms of bullying, cyberbullying can follow children and young people into their private spaces and outside school hours. This is why it is essential that parents and young people themselves should understand how to use technologies safely to protect themselves at home and outside school hours, as well as supporting their schools in dealing with incidents."

Gill Frances, Chair of the Anti-Bullying Alliance, said: "Bullying in all forms - including cyberbullying - is unacceptable and it is vital to develop effective strategies both for addressing and preventing it.

"As our research shows, a third of those who experience cyberbullying do not report it. If we are to succeed in preventing bullying, we need to break the climate of silence in which it thrives by empowering children and young people to speak out and seek help."

(KMcA/SP)