“Ask questions. This list may help you start a discussion with your kids.”
As part of regular conversations and interactions with your children it is important to ask about bullying. Two good questions to find out about cyber bullying are, “Have you ever been sent messages that have upset you or hurt you?” “Is there anything that happens online that you wish you could stop.”
Many people think that if something happens online there is nothing that can be done about it. That is not true, in New Zealand there is the Harmful Digital Communications Act. If someone bullies or hurts you online it may be a crime.
Here are the 10 principals of the act that say what is and is not okay online.
• Principle 1 A digital communication should not disclose sensitive personal facts about an individual.
• Principle 2 A digital communication should not be threatening, intimidating, or menacing.
• Principle 3 A digital communication should not be excessively offensive to a reasonable person in the position of the affected individual.
• Principle 4 A digital communication should not be indecent or obscene.
• Principle 5 A digital communication should not be used to harass an individual.
• Principle 6 A digital communication should not make a false allegation.
• Principle 7 A digital communication should not contain a matter that is published in breach of confidence.
• Principle 8 A digital communication should not incite or encourage anyone to send a message to an individual for the purpose of causing harm to the individual.
• Principle 9 A digital communication should not incite or encourage an individual to commit suicide.
• Principle 10 A digital communication should not denigrate an individual by reason of his or her colour, race, ethnic or national origins, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.
For more information and ways to report cyber bullying see, https://www.netsafe.org.nz/what-is-the-hdca/