Don't reply, save proof and tell an adult: Advice for cyber-bulling targets
Youth charity SpunOut.ie has issued guidelines to tackle cyber bullying, after the death of 13-year-old Erin Gallagher in Donegal on Saturday night.
Erin took her own life after allegedly being sent abusive messages on a social networking site.
SpunOut is urging young people to make sure they do not respond to unwanted messages and to save screenshots or messages as proof of the bullying.
The charity also advised bullying victims to make sure to tell a trusted adult such as a parent or teacher about the bullying.
Among the tips and advice on SpunOut.ie are these:
- Don’t reply to the messages;
- Save the evidence (photo/email/video/web post, etc) as proof;
- Tell a trusted adult, such as a close relative, a family friend, a teacher, health professional or a youth worker;
- Contact a free confidential support service such as Samaritans - telephone 1850 609090;
- Report the bullying to the police or Gardaí;
- Report the bullying to the technology providers such as the mobile phone company, web host or website owner.
Teacher Freida Crehan, who works in Malahide and is an expert on cyber bullying, said bullying on the internet was particularly nasty.
"It's far nastier, in that it's 24/7. They're exposed to it all the time. They can get to you in the middle of the night," she said.
She referred also to a "huge number of bystanders", saying: "Everybody knows, and nobody says."
