Law - Cyberbullying - Cyber- Crime - Assessment Answer

Law Assignment

Assignment Task

You are to write an "OP-Ed" (editorial opinion) for a major on-line news-site ( e.g BBC,SMH, Huffington Post your choice .You may choose anytopical currentinformation law issue covered in the forum topics. You should create at this as for a digital publication so you may use graphics to enhance the presentation if you wish. Have a look at some op-des online before you start e.g see my op-ed on Cyberbullying in the Age and SMH in the resources on Moodle under Cyber-crime.

You must also provide a 1 page bibliography which contains the details the sources you have consulted

You should seek to emulate a real“Op-Ed and your work should be of a high professional standard in all respects. The assignment is worth 35% of the marks for the unit. Maximum1500 words ( exc bibliography).

Assessment Requirements

Your assignment should be no more than 1500 words and is worth 35% of the marks for this subject. Your assignment must be submitted in the Moodle drop box by the due date and marks will be posted electronically

Cyber-bullying refers to the utilization of information technology to perpetuate hatred and hostility against a certain individual or group of persons. The effects of such a type of bullying are many. Although the rate of cyber-bullying is less than traditional bullying, the effects of the latter are devastating compared to the traditional bullying.

Cyber-bullying is sometimes considered covert because it is never exposed. The victim never exposes it because of the stigma associated with it. The perpetrators are certainly not likely to reveal their mundane acts because of the pride and ignorance. According to Australia Federal Police (2010), the anonymity of the internet use fuels the cyber-bullying. Moreover, the fact that the recipient of the maligning publicity is not in a position to respond provides the cyber-bullies with a perfect opportunity to bully their colleagues. The Australian government is charged with the responsibility of protecting its people and institutions from the adversity of cyber-bullying. In fact, the malpractice sets a bad precedence for the young generation. The young people in Australia are vulnerable to engagements in cyber-bullying because of the stereotypes at schools. Besides the proclamation of the legal provisions, the government ought to ensure the implementation of the stringent legal policies against the vice.

The statistics on the prevalence of cyber-bullying in Australia is appalling. One in four children experiences cyber-bullying in Australia hence 25% of children in Australia is experience bullying (Gallagher-Watson, 2014). Such a rate is high and calls for prompt measures to forestall the anomaly. The criminalization of such malpractices among the students should be enforced. The juvenile system should be active to deal with the misnomer. There is a need for collaboration between parents, teachers, guardians and students and the public in the eradication of cyber-bullying. The anonymity aspect of the internet should be tackled through the application of sophisticated encryption and cloud systems to identify such perpetrators. The use of secret wire-tapping technology can be replicated in the case of cyber-bullying to trace liability.

The implementation of such measures will serve as a deterrent measure for many people indulging in the cyber-bullying. Additionally, guidance and counselling will also help in discouraging of cyber-bullying. Some students engage in cyber-bullying because of lack of anger managements skills. For this reason, it is imperative for the institution of learning to establish programs aimed at grievance solving and peaceful coexistence among the students. The program will provide an opportunity for the students and teachers to share virtues and skills relevant in harmonious coexistence like empathy. According to Brackb & Caltabiano (2014), the cyber-bullied people need comfort and emotional support. The support will enable the person or student to recover from such a frustration. Unfortunately, students are usually vulnerable to mob psychology. In this case, students may also join in the act of cyber-bullying, which exacerbates the situation. Some students get afraid of the vice hence they can only watch rather than get involved in stopping the vice. The parents should also be encouraged to ensure that their children undergo pre-schooling to acquire emotional and social skills. Such a learning stage is crucial for all children but it is ignored by most parents.

Social and emotional learning is vital for the students. In fact, such learning enhances accommodation and toleration of other students in a learning environment. The Australian schools should be provided with adequate financial resources to enhance youth-driven initiatives. The initiatives will boost team-work and collaboration. Working together will enable the students to respect each other and highly regard each other. Conflict resolution should also be enhanced. The students should also be provided with an opportunity to participate in the eradication of cyber-bullying. According to Australia Federal Police (2010), both conciliatory and offensive approaches to reduction of cyber-bullying should be enhanced. The school policies should also be adjusted subject to the prevalence of cyber-bullying. The implementation of the school policies can serve as a retribution measure for the cyber-bullies. The practice of cyber-bullying is degenerates to harm because the aggressor does not have an idea on the response and reaction of the cyber-bullying target. The relationship between the cyber-bully and the victim gets worse and it brings fear of eh unknown for both parties. Therefore, cyber-bullying does not benefit any party.

Cyber-bullying should be discouraged because it leads to suicide in extreme cases. Some students resort to suicide when cyber-bullying takes toll on them. According to Australia Federal Police (2010), Australia accounts for the largest number of student suicide cases in the world. Trolling is common among school students because of their level of growth and development. There is need for children help services because most children do not know how to protect themselves against the cyber-bullies. Guidance and counselling is the most reliable remedy for cyber-bullying. Most people indulge in cyber-bullying because of ignorance and anonymity. Cyber-bullying contributes to low academic performance and school drop-outs. It is important for guardians to collaborate with teachers to establish the root cause of cyber-bullying because students re most affected by the vice.

The government of Australia should start monitoring online accounts to ensure that cyber-bullying is discouraged. The privacy regulations should be reviewed to include a clause on cyber-bulling. Consequently, it is possible or a suspect’s account to be monitored over time to establish credible evidence for prosecution. The leadership of schools should also be reviewed to enhance more participation of students and high instructor-student interactivity. Such a move will ensure that students are not overburdened with emotional feuds for long. The conflict management skills should be taught in schools as part of the schools curriculum. The conflict management will reduce cases of cyber-bullying. Most students like getting even with their perceived enemies. Unfortunately, such measures exacerbate the problems because animosity among students compromises learning.

The perceived retaliation never works because of the anxiety created by both parties. Trolling is the worst form of cyber-bullying because use of vulgar language in anonymity hurts the victim. The effect of cyber-bullying is permanent because withdrawal and deletion of the vulgar insults cannot make up for the damage caused. The effects of cyber-bullying include disregard of the sites used for cyber-bullying. For this reason, the owners of the websites lose revenue. The practice of cyber-bullying promotes bad culture in the Australian society. The government should encourage the implementation of strict rules to curb the practice. There is wide-spread fear amongst children of 12-17 years age bracket on social media account hacking (Goff, 2011). The instilling of fear among children has devastating effects because such a malpractice also compromises the self-esteem of the children. The children are concerned that their misdeeds will haunt them through cyber-bullying. Such emotional disturbance is not justified but it is a reality the students must grabble with, in the course of their lives.

The Australian government is also required to alter the curriculum of the Australian schools to reduce cyber-bullying. Girls are more vulnerable to bullying compared to boys. The establishment that the malpractice is not subject to cultures and practices in schools is vital in the fight against cyber-bullying. There is a uniform trend in the practice of the cyber-bullying. Therefore, the schools should apply similar strategies to eradicate the vice from schools. Cyber-bullies do not only target people they know. Sometimes, the bullies target people they do not know because of internet anonymity. Such a case takes stopping of the bullying because it is difficult to understand the drive of such bullies. When the cyber-bullies target strangers it implies that it is their hobby or illusion. The existing legal framework should be use by the Australian authorities to curb the social misnomer. The abuse of social media use should also be discouraged by invoking the international treaties on internet use.

Conclusion

Cyber-bullying is common in Australia. The analysis has covered the possible causes of the malpractice and the mitigation measures. The practice is a social evil and it emanates from social conflicts among students and adults. The malpractice also results from the inability of students to cope and accommodate their colleagues’ uniqueness. The lack of social and emotional skills is the major cause of such extremities. The Australian government should establish correctional measures for the errand students. The criminal prosecution of the cyber-bullies will enhance transformation. The government should also adopt the use of sophisticated systems to identify cyber-bullies at all times.