Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
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MSP tells of online harassment
Fulton MacGregor led a debate on bullying at the Scottish Parliament, and told Holyrood colleagues about the rise of and issues caused by online harassment, especially of young people.
The Coatbridge & Chryston MSP earned the opportunity to discuss the topic in the Scottish Parliament chamber after gaining cross-party support from a further 31 members for his motion praising the “stand up to bullying” campaign run by the Diana Award charity.
He spoke about the work of national antibullying service respectme, and said that its research last year “found that 30 per cent of children had experienced some form of bullying in 2013-14 [and] 40 per cent of those had suffered either partly or wholly online”.
Mr MacGregor said: “Bullying can happen to anyone at any age; bullying by adults has probably increased with the rise of social media.
“Stonewall Scotland has made some incredible inroads into bullying of and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people; however, its research shows that more than half of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Scotland have suffered homophobic bullying.
“There must be a focus on education and we must ensure that everyone, young and old, is aware of the impact that bullying can have. Half of all suicides among young people are attributed directly to bullying, and bullying victims are two to nine times more likely to attempt suicide.
“Bullying and harassment are increasingly moving to online settings, which means that they are even harder to notice when the victim does not speak out. If you experience it or see someone else being bullied, speak out: tell someone and never suffer in silence.”
Also speaking in the debate was Elaine Smith, the Central Scotland Labour MSP, who congratulated her constituency successor “on securing this really important debate” and highlighted cyberbullying and trolling.
She said: “We need to look at new forms of bullying that might fly under the radar as technology develops, and open our minds to the fact that the victims of cyberbullying are as diverse as they are numerous.”
Ms Smith spoke of the attendant “negative consequences for physical and mental health, and said: “Awareness of the difference between joking around and the more serious charge of harassment is often pretty poor – if we can increase knowledge of both, it’s possible that we can eventually begin to bring an end to this worrying phenomenon.”
Speaking after the debate, SNP politician Mr MacGregor told the Advertiser: “This is a big problem across Scotland and every opportunity should be taken to raise awareness and challenge people of all ages and backgrounds to stand up against bullying.
“More and more, we’re seeing attacks on people online and this must be stopped; the consequences of bullying, particularly for young people, can often be really damaging and we must increase education of everyone to ensure people know what effect bullying and harassment has on the victims.” Advertising Feature