Cyberbullying must be part of BC curriculum: joint report
Posted November 13, 2015 10:40 am.
Last Updated November 13, 2015 11:51 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – BC’s privacy and children’s watchdogs want the province to bring cyberbullying in to the school curriculum.
When it comes to applying cyberbullying laws, Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham and Children’s Representative Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond say the attorney general needs to ensure prosecutors don’t take an overly punitive approach.
There are times when criminal prosecution is appropriate, says Turpel-Lafond. But she suggests each case needs to be looked at individually, so as not to send kids needlessly into the justice system.
“Up to 40 per cent, perhaps, of young people have been the victims of or participated in bullying. If we were to take a criminal response to that and not work on educating young people and creating safety for them, we would have a lot of young people criminalized,” says Turpel-Lafond.
The report, co-authored by Denham, calls for proactive education, including a re-vamped curriculum — not a focus on punishment.
It urges the province to make cyberbullying education a mandatory part both the school curriculum and teacher development.
The report says high-profile suicides of Canadian teenagers, including Amanda Todd, appear to be a response to vicious online tormenting. It adds social media companies and Internet providers bear some responsibility for the actions of their users.
