WEB DESK
AMN / UNITED NATIONS
A new poll released on Wednesday by UNICEF revealed that one-third of young people in 30 countries said they have been a victim of online bullying.
The survey also showed one in five young people said they skipped school due to cyberbullying and violence.
Speaking out anonymously through the youth engagement tool U-Report, almost three-quarters of young people also said social networks, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter, are the most common place for online bullying.
“Connected classrooms mean school no longer ends once a student leaves class, and, unfortunately, neither does schoolyard bullying”, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said. “Improving young people’s education experience means accounting for the environment they encounter online as well as offline.”
To end online bullying and violence in and around schools, UNICEF and partners are calling for urgent action from all sectors in the following areas:
Implementation of policies to protect children and young people from cyberbullying and bullying.
Establishment and equipment of national helplines to support children and young people.
Advancement of ethical standards and practices of social network providers specifically in regards to the collection, information and management of data.
Collection of better, disaggregated evidence about children and young people’s online behaviour to inform policy and guidance.
Training for teachers and parents to prevent and respond to cyberbullying and bullying, particularly for vulnerable groups.