Pretoria - The first day of Child Protection week kicked off yesterday with the civil rights organisation AfriForum’s anti-bullying campaign launching its cyberbullying guide, which raises awareness about the dangers of technology, social media, sexting and child pornography.
The guide aims to empower parents, teachers and learners to be #ScreenSmart. The guide was compiled in collaboration with Solidarity Helping Hand, the SAPS’s Serial and Electronic Investigation unit, the University of Johannesburg and Unisa.
South Africa ranks fourth highest in the world when it comes to cyberbullying. According to market research in 2018, more than half (54%) of South African parents said their children, or children in their community, were victims of cyberbullying.
“However, this statistic could be much higher since parents do not always know if their child is being bullied. Social media causes the bully to go home with the victim, making bullying constant, said Leandie Bräsler, AfriForum’s manager for youth leadership.
According to her, bullying that once only took place on the school grounds, or the bus, has now spread to social media – cyberbullying.
The guide discusses the seriousness of cyberbullying, child porn and sexting. It informs parents and teachers about the dangers of the internet and social media platforms. Parents and teachers are taught how to be proactive when learners are victims of cyberbullying and how to deal with and prevent it.
“The dangers of social media must be discussed with children, seeing as more and more learners are affected by it. Learners do not necessarily know what dangers and trauma this can entail, especially when sharing nude photos, Captain Veronica Banks of the SAPS Gauteng Electronic Crime Unit said.
She said that they wanted to help learners better understand social media and how to report bullying behaviour.
The guide contains a table with smartphone apps popular among learners and what dangers each poses.
“We encourage parents to familiarise themselves with these apps and how they work so that they can better protect their child,” she said.
Advocate Phyllis Vorster, prosecutor at AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit, said experience showed that the president, minister of justice, the National Prosecuting Authority and courts only pay lip service to gender-based violence and sexual offences against minors. “Educators are confronted daily with a variety of diverse incidents that necessitate the application of the law in schools. Cyberbullying is the most common and probably the most difficult to deal with.”
She said the only effective way to respond to this was to ensure the law was predictable to act as a deterrent.
Yolandi Singleton, of Solidarity Helping Hands, said a stable, trusting relationship between child and parent was a prerequisite for having uncomfortable conversations about social media and other topics.
“Therefore, as a parent, you must consistently work hard on your relationship with your child by spending quality time with them. This guide teaches parents and teachers how to handle situations where their child must deal with cyberbullying, child pornography and sexting.”
Professor Elmarie Kritzinger, from Unisa, said: “The aim of raising awareness of cyber-security is to inform all users – parents, learners, and educators – about it. We believe this guide will make the public more aware of cyber security.”
Professor Basie von Solms, from the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for Cyber Security, said parents, grandparents, teachers and everyone in any position of authority must help convey the message.
If you participate in cyberbullying, you can have a criminal record for life,” he warned.
The guide will be available on AfriForum’s website from June 2.
Pretoria News