Cyberbullying-Let's Fight It Together

Cyberbullying-Let's Fight It Together -the ACMA launches new Cybersmart resource

The Australian Communications and Media Authority today launched Let's Fight It Together, a new teaching resource to combat cyberbullying that will be available free to all schools in Australia.

Let's Fight It Together is designed with teenagers in classroom situations in mind. The program aims to equip young people with strategies to avoid, get out of or help others deal with cyberbullying behaviour and to show adults how they can help.

'The impact of cyberbullying- the use of social networking sites, mobile text messages, instant messaging, email and other websites to bully others-can be very damaging, and is becoming a significant issue for children and for schools,' said Chris Chapman, Chairman of the ACMA.

'Cyberbullying can be more pernicious than traditional forms of bullying: hostile messages can be sent at any time from any place; they can be sent anonymously and distributed more rapidly to wider audiences. For the target of the cyberbullying, there can be nowhere to run-places previously considered safe and personal are safe no longer.'

The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, said educational resources such as Let's Fight It Together are a key part of the Government's comprehensive approach to cybersafety.

'New technologies offer a world of opportunity but it is important that young people are empowered to address issues such as bullying in the online environment. This new resource will help raise awareness while providing important advice and support for young Australians, teachers and parents,' Senator Conroy said.Let's fight It Together is based around a short video story which presents a cyberbullying scenario derived from real experiences of teenagers who have been cyberbullied. The DVD also includes interviews with the characters in the story-teachers, parents and young people-about their perspective on the cyberbullying scenario presented. The accompanying booklet is a comprehensive guide for teachers with lesson plans and activities to help get the most out of the DVD.

The Let's Fight It Together resource materials have been customised to Australian schools by mapping to Australia's national Statements of Learning for ICT. It was originally developed by Childnet International and the UK Department for Children Schools and Families where it has received high acclaim. It is also being used by schools in New Zealand and Europe. The resource can not only be used in schools, but also by parents and others involved in the care of children. The ACMA already has orders from over 200 schools for Let's Fight It Together.

The DVD includes an introduction by Chris Chapman, Chairman of the ACMA, addressing parents and carers on dealing with cyberbullying and vox pops with Australian students discussing their reaction to the cyberbullying scenario and their own experiences with cyberbullying.

The Sydney launch of Let's Fight It Together was attended by the chief executive officer of Childnet International, Will Gardner, the executive director of Netsafe New Zealand, Martin Cocker, and representatives of Australian education and child welfare bodies.

Schools can order a free copy of the Let's Fight It Together resource by contacting the Cybersafety Contact Centre on telephone 1800 880 176.

Let's Fight It Together
Let's Fight It Together is a comprehensive teaching resource including a seven-minute film depicting the story of a teenager who becomes the target of bullying via the internet and his mobile phone. The film shows a number of ways in which cyberbullying occurs, who it involves and how it can affect different people, including the teacher who, in the film, is also impacted.

The film is supported by resource materials designed for teachers to use with students in discussing and addressing issues raised in the film. The materials include a 40-page Teacher's Guide to the Let's Fight It Together resource, containing essential advice on preparing class discussions, follow-up activities, lesson plans and details of support material and resources for further advice and an 8-page overview, with details on how to identify, prevent and respond to cyberbullying incidents.

Let's Fight It Together can also be used by other organisations working with, or for, young people, including training organisations, companies wanting to train their staff, police forces and libraries, among others.

What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying can include:

spreading rumours online

sending unwanted taunting, or threatening messages

excluding individuals from social interaction online

defacing images on or setting up fake profiles on social networking sites.

Anyone can be bullied online and the bully can act anonymously if he or she wants to.

People can also be bullied online by groups of people such as class groups or collectively by members of an online community.

Cyberbullying in Australia
Research indicates that cyberbullying becomes more prevalent among school students in the mid-secondary years with an average of 7 to 10 per cent of students in years 4 to 9 reporting that they have been cyberbullied (Australian Covert Bullying Prevalence Study, Edith Cowan University for the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.).

An ACMA quantitative survey (Click and Connect: Young Australians' use of online social media, July 2009) with over 800 students aged 8-17 years indicated that the incidence of cyberbullying increases with age. By the age of 16-17 years nearly one in five report having experienced some form of cyberbullying.

About Childnet International
Childnet International (add link - http://www.childnet-int.org/) is a UK registered charity, established in 1995, with the aim of work with others to help make the internet a great and safe place for children.

Childnet produces a range of support materials for teachers, parents, carers and children. These include leaflets, lesson plans, interactive games, fact sheets and presentations, many of which can be downloaded from the Childnet website www.childnet.com.

The ACMA's cybersafety initiatives
The ACMA provides a comprehensive national program of cybersafety initiatives as part of the Australian Government's cybersafety policy. The ACMA's program includes:

The Cybersmart website www.cybersmart.gov.au. This website provides a comprehensive, one stop shop for cybersafety information aimed at young people, parents and teachers.

Cybersmart Online Helpline service-provided by Kids Helpline, this service offers free, confidential online counselling to young people who have encountered negative experiences online. The Cybersmart Online Helpline is accessed through the Cybersmart website

Targeted information and awareness-raising campaigns and activities, such as Safer Internet Day and participating in National Child Protection Week.

Developing cybersafety education materials for use in schools and at home. These programs are designed for children from 5 to 15 years and include Hector's World, CyberQuoll, CyberNetrix, Cybersmart Detectives and Wise up to IT.

The Cybersafety Outreach program of Professional Development for Educators and general internet safety awareness presentations for parents, teachers and children.

Researching current trends in cybersafety and young people's use of online media.

The Cybersafety Contact Centre offering callers information and advice about internet safety issues and concerns; telephone 1800 880 176.

A complaints hotline for members of the public to report offensive internet material.
Visit: www.acma.gov.au/hotline.