History of Bullying

In Australia, bullying is seen as a big problem that needs to be contained. In order to control this problem, the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) has mandated that all their schools must implement a Student Code of Conduct that addresses the issue of cyberbullying and anti-bullying strategies. The purpose of this measure is to, “empower each school to construct a document that fosters a healthy school culture and incorporates the state-wide framework of the Student Discipline Procedures.” (Goff) the problem with addressing cyberbullying is that it is a very secretive form of bullying that makes it difficult to recognize and bring to an end. Another problem is that the schools have not yet defined when and where their jurisdiction takes place. A majority of cyberbullying takes place outside of school but affects the students while they are on campus. The schools are confused as to what are acceptable situations to punish. Since the law cannot apprehend most of these perpetrators, parents feel the school should be responsible for punishment. However, as of now, victims have little means of pursuing their attacker since there is relatively no laws protecting them and their schools remain powerless. The author invites schools and parents to work together to create a consistent strategy to combat these issues. He claims that their needs to be a clear understanding of each party’s responsibilities in order to clear up the misunderstandings. In addition, legislation and policies need to change in order to give students a safe place to learn and grow.

Goff, W. (2011).The shades of grey of cyberbullying in Australian schools. Australian Journal of Education (ACER Press), 55(2), 176-181.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/8507497/Cyber-bullies-face-jail-under-new-Govt-plan

In this article the author focuses on the New Zealand’s governmental actions at stopping cyberbullying and persecuting those who make use of it. One of the new laws proposed up to three years in prison when provoking an individual to take their life, even if they do not make the attempt. Another part of the law can fine you up to $2,000 dollars or three months jail for offensive, obscene, or knowingly false information online. In accordance with this law, an agency would be established in order to take in complaints and order sanctions to take down material. It was said that these proposals were not intended to control the internet but rather punish those who were abusing it.

On June 30, 2008, Missouri became the first state to authorize imprisonment for cyberbullying. This new law came as a result of the suicide death of 13 year-old Megan Meier in 2006 caused by an ongoing attack online. The attacks came from a fellow student, Lori Drew, and her mother who had created a fake user named Josh in order to harass Megan. Because there were no laws pertaining to cyberbullying, federal prosecutors charged Lori with one felony count of conspiracy and three felony counts of unauthorized computer access. The jury acquitted her of the charges but found her guilty of three misdemeanor counts of unauthorized computer access. The new law was created in order to simplify the process of prosecuting similar criminals.