Revenge porn up

Education the key

CYBERBULLYING, revenge porn and sextortion are on the rise and the government agency fighting the scourge says social networks, parents and teachers needed to do more to stop their spread.

The Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner told a Senate Estimates Committee yesterday cyberbullying cases soared by 60 per cent over the past year, and warned Australia was “about 10 years behind in terms of education”.

Image-based abuse, including revenge porn and sextortion cases, had also risen so rapidly the agency planned to drop the word “children” from its title and would invest $4.8 million in an “imagebased” reporting tool due to launch later this year.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said it received more than 400 cyberbullying complaints from children and parents who had reported inappropriate material to social media sites but received no action.

“We’ve seen a 60 per cent increase in cyberbullying cases over the past year,” Ms Grant Inman said. “Our own research shows us one in five young Australians have been cyberbullied over time.”

She said it also needed to do more to prevent cyberbullying, and introduce educational tools for parents and teachers.

“Sexting is becoming a normalised courtship ritual and we are engaging in more research around that,” she said.

“I believe we’re about 10 years behind in terms of education. We know that the birds and the bees conversation now needs to come with a technical manual.”

The office has expanded its scope to investigate adult revenge porn and image-based abuse, including sextortion cases where a person threatens to share intimate photographs unless they receive favours or money.