Now that school is well underway and students are finding their feet within the classroom and socially, it's a good time to talk about Cyberbullying.
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Cyberbullying is using technology to hurt someone by sending nasty or abusive messages or emails, posting humiliating images or embarrassing videos, spreading rumours or lies online and excluding others.
Spinifex State College Principal Phil Sweeney said we all live in the information age were mobile phones, and other devices give us access to each 100% of the time.
"Cyberbullying is when a student is targeted by one or more students electronically. The challenging part around this type of bullying is there can be no relief from it," Mr Sweeney said.
"It can occur at any time, on the weekend, during the night or after a student has left school for the day."
Spinifex State College have a number of preventative programs in place for their students.
"We try to ensure students know how to work responsibly with their digital devices both here at school and particularly at home. We want them to STOP, LOCK, RECORD and TAKE it out.
'We embed the message within our curriculum, in classes such as Digital Technology or HPE and also through our wellbeing programs we offer the students," he said.
While educational institutes are working hard to ease the impact of cyberbullying, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk updated Parliament with the latest report on the Queensland Anti‑Cyberbullying Taskforce, which was established nearly a year ago.
The Premier said she had written to the CEOs of Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Google, and she was also writing to television networks, broadcasters and streaming services, requesting they include ‘bullying’ in program consumer advice.
“I’ve also announced a new Advisory Committee to help Queensland Government departments action the recommendations from the Queensland Anti-Cyberbullying Taskforce report,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“The committee is an important next step in creating a safer and more supportive online environment for Queensland’s children and young people.
“The safety and wellbeing of Queensland’s young people is a top priority for the government and the work of this committee supports our $3.5m commitment to address cyberbullying and the harm it can cause.”
The government’s $3.5m promise includes $2m to develop cyberbullying awareness and education campaigns, $1m for Queensland schools and $500,000 in grants for those wanting to undertake their own initiatives.
Dolly’s Dream Foundation in partnership with the Alannah and Madeline Foundation will implement the eSmart Schools Program in Queensland schools with Dolly’s Dream Foundation matching this funding with a further $300,000.
The committee will be chaired by Queensland University of Technology legal academic and Queensland Anti-Cyberbullying Taskforce member Peter Black and will include members with a breadth of experience in the technology, education, legal, media and parenting sectors.
The safety and wellbeing of Queensland’s young people is a top priority for the government and the work of this committee supports our $3.5m commitment to address cyberbullying and the harm it can cause.
- Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk
Dr Karyn Healy, Mr Mark Breckenridge, Ms Annika David, Ms Elloise Waite, Ms Emily de la Pena, and Mr Brent Neale will serve as members of the committee.
The first biannual progress report on the Government’s Anti-Cyberbullying response will be tabled in Queensland Parliament in April.
Ms Palaszczuk said a number of recommendations from the Queensland Anti-Cyberbullying Taskforce report still required federal support.
“At the Council of Australian Governments meeting in December, I requested support for ‘right to be forgotten’ legislation, which would allow degrading cyberbullying material to effectively be erased from the internet,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“This month I am writing to Prime Minister Scott Morrison seeking an update on this matter, as well as other Taskforce recommendations which require national action.
“There is not one thing we can do to eliminate cyberbullying – we must do everything, and my government will continue to lead by example in 2019," she said.
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