CYBER-BULLYING: trends, prevention strategies and the role of law enforcement

PRACTICAL INFO

 Speakers

  • Elizabeth MILOVIDOV, Council of Europe Expert
  • Susanna GREIJER, Council of Europe Expert
  • Andrea BRADLEY, Council of Europe Expert
  • Nina VAARANEN-VALKONEN, Council of Europe Expert

  Moderator

  • Stephanie Burel, Senior Project Officer, EndOCSEA@Europe Project, Council of Europe

  This webinar is organized in the framework of the project End Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse @ Europe (EndOCSEA@Europe) and the joint European Union and Council of Europe iPROCEEDS-2 project.

 Language: English only

  Presentations

 Outline

 Date and time

  • Tuesday, 9 March 2021 | 10:00 am GMT+2

 Duration and format

  • 2h 30 minutes

 Audience

  • Particularly useful for officials and policy makers responsible for protection of children against all forms of violence, including cyberbullying, as well as human rights specialists, criminal justice authorities (judges, prosecutors, law enforcement agencies), non-governmental organisations and researchers/academia with an interest in the subject.

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DETAILS

Background

Bullying is a worldwide problem, with negative and sometimes fatal consequences. The increased use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has taken bullying online and there is a blurring of the line between bullying offline and cyber-bullying. In addition, the anonymity of the internet has scaled up the dimension of violence seen in bullying, and acts of cyber-bullying increasingly fall into the realm of criminal offences which necessitate the involvement of law enforcement.

Studies show that cyber-bullying perpetration and victimisation have common predictors, which include having weaker offline social ties and support from friends and family, loneliness, difficult relationships at school, and lower psychological well-being.

The links between cyber-bullying and sexualised intimidation or violence are many, and cyber-bullying can border on online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA).

Objectives

The webinar aims at providing different professional categories, from social workers to law enforcement working either in the cyber departments or the local police with input about Cyberbullying as starting and end point for such offences as sexual offences against children, including sexting, CSAM and sexual extortion.

In order to shed light on the role of law enforcement in the fight against cyber-bullying, this webinar will bring together speakers working on cyber-bullying from different angles: prevention initiatives, legal measures and law enforcement investigations, child protection mechanisms and psychological support.

Expected outcomes

The speakers will discuss together – as well as with the audience – what can be done to step up the efforts to tackle cyber-bullying against children and youth. In particular, it will provide guidance to law enforcement and other relevant actors to identify cases of cyberbullying in need of a criminal investigation, to be aware of existing prevention measures, and to be mindful of the psychological aspects relating to both victims and bullies.

Resources