Libraries in Australia are training their staff to assist youth in reporting cyber bullying. The actual submission process is being done by a pilot website that was launched last week.
One in five Australian children aged between 8 and 17 has experienced cyber bullying, according to research led by UNSW’s Social Policy Research Centre.
The Children’s eSafety Commissioner Alastair MacGibbon said these figures are unacceptable and hopes to make libraries both a digital and physical sanctuary against online harassment.
“There was a survey that the British released last week that showed LGBTI kids nominated libraries as their safe place against bullying, so they’ve always been that vacuum of freedom and the ability to gain access to information,” he said. “We, as an office, try to create a better environment by dealing with complaints and getting rid of the threats that are targeted towards kids, so it’s a really great partnership.”
When libraries are used to submit content that is considered hateful or harassing, the Office of the Children’s eSafety will work with sites including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Google+, Twitter, Flicker, Yahoo Answers, Yahoo Groups and Afk.fm, to have it removed within 24 hours.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
