Cyberbullying an increasing trend in Quinte, say Quinte West OPP officer

This is one of the many high schools visited in the Belleville area to ask about the increase in cyberbullying among teens. Kerry Donnell, the communication officer of the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board, says local schools take these reports very seriously. Photo By Demii Niles

By Demii Niles

BELLEVILLE – Cyberbullying has started to become an increasing trend, says Quinte West community safety officer David Ludington.

Over the last decade, young adults and teenagers are cyberbullying and posting sexual images for revenge on social media, he said. Ludington said cyberbullying and sending sexual images without consent is a dual procedure offense, involving both cyberbullying and distribution of intimate images without consent could result in five years in prison.

Recently, a 13-year old girl in Nova Scotia was a victim of cyberbullying, according to reports from CTV News. She received hundreds of messages over the last few months urging her to kill herself. The mother is afraid of the effects this might have on her daughter and has filled an application out for a peace bond for her, CTV reported.

Despite the serious legal percussions, young people are taught in local schools about this kind of behaviour, how to prevent it and what to do.

Hastings-Prince Edward District School Board communications officer Kerry Donnell said they do not tolerate cyberbullying or bullying at all. She said the school board has learning opportunities and workshops for grade 7 to 12 students about equity, equality and creating a positive environment in the school.

“The school board has processes and procedures in place to address when bullying situations happen… We do programs in schools with children about respect,” said Donnell. “Our guidance counsellors do programs with elementary and secondary school-aged students. ”

The schools take the matter very seriously and follow up on any reports of cyberbullying, she said.

Donnell said if a principal or staff member is aware of students cyberbullying or sending intimate pictures without consent, the staff takes action and involve students, families, and police depending on the situation. She said they have had progressive discipline which is a disciplinary system that is used in employment and has been placed in school boards for the last decade.

“There is always a range of possibilities and consequences and each situation is looked at differently. Some of the considerations that go into that is the student’s age; if it’s a first time or pattern of behaviour; and what the circumstances are surrounding it,” she said. “There would be discussions between the principal and the school’s superintendent.”

Ludington said they treat cyberbullying the same as every call and investigate it from beginning to end.

“Criminal code offences would be something like threatening or it could be the photos being sent without the person’s consent… It’s treated the same as any other occurrence and investigated thoroughly.”

Ludington said a common form of cyberbullying is intimidating or threatening bodily harm towards a person or their property.

“Often we are able to determine where the original computer sent it from or the phone… We really encourage people if they are or believe they are a victim of cyberbullying not to delete any of the information they have received and to call us right away,” he said.

He said the cyberbullying increase started when social media just began to become popular and now the OPP is starting to see a trend in the younger generation.

“The trend is definitely increasing. We’re trying to decrease it by constantly doing public education campaigns in conjunction with our school boards,” he said. “So we are out in the schools discussing the perils of it and the perils of sending those photos… that maybe you’re thinking should I or should I not send them.”

Internet victimization is more common in younger age groups, according to Statistics Canada. When cyberbullying is combined with other stressors, your mental health can become detrimental. For those age 15 to 20, about one in five people have experienced cyberstalking or cyberbullying.

Ludington referred to one of the most high-profile cases of cyberbullying in Canada, Amanda Todd, who committed suicide after aggressive, repeated attacks online.

“A perfect example (is) Amanda Todd, a young girl whose images went out and she was being blackmailed. At that point in her life, she felt the only recourse was to take her own life… the sad part of it is how society perceives you after you send those images… As bad as it seems it is, at some point in your life its always going to get better,” he said.