One in five Aussie children victimised by cyber bullying

CANBERRA: One in five Australian children are victims of cyber bullying, the nation’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant has revealed.

Addressing the National Press Club yesterday, she called for cyber bullying to be addressed in the national school curriculum, saying that online safety had become “one of the primary parenting challenges of our time.”

According to Xinhua news agency, the Office of the eSafety Commissioner studied complaints of online abuse dating back to 2015, finding that one in four reports included “direct threats of violence or harm” targeted at a child.

“The average age of victims is 14; girls are bullied online more than boys; and almost all of the online abuse is peer to peer and has a nexus to social conf lict within the school gates,” Inman Grant told the press club.

“Our experience shows that complaints are becoming much more complex, urgent, and serious.”

Cyber bullying was thrust into the national conscience earlier this year when 14-year- old Dolly Everett from the Northern Territory took her own life after being bullied online.

Inman Grant said there was “no quick fix” for the problem but schools had a key role to play.

“To help achieve this societal change, we need to reinforce key values with children in the home whilst integrating similar principles into the curriculum,” she said.

“How can we really be preparing our children for the workforce of the future if we are not teaching them the skills and behaviour they will need to survive in this brave new online world?”

A survey conducted by Inman Grant’s office revealed that 96 per cent of parents needed “additional online safety information to help them manage the online risks their children are exposed to”.

“Their concerns range from protecting their child’s online privacy to knowing what signs and symptoms to look out for, in determining whether their child has experienced some form of online abuse,” she said. — Bernama