Make Cyberbullying a Crime, Group Says

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Delegates at the Canadian Teachers' Federation(CTF) want Canada's federal government to amke cyberbullying a cirminal offence.

The delegates passed a document that amkes the recoommendation that cyberbullying be criminalized.

The issue has become so serious that dramatic action needs to be taken to protect students and teachers.

"A lot of legislation doesn't address the new technology," CTF president Emily Noble said.


"One of the problems is that cyberbullying is all anonymous. It's not like it is at the school yard ... Kids think they can say or do anything they want (on the Internet)."


"We are working with the RCMP to develop an education component ... and we're lobbying MPs at the federal level. Let's look at the criminal code," she said.


"I'm really pleased we've come to the point where the . . . CTF is taking leadership," Bill Belsey, an educator and creator of bullying.org, said. "Schools will do their best, but their reach and authority is somewhat limited."

The CTF says that cyberbullying "is the use of information and communication technologies to bully, embarrass, threaten or harass another. It also includes the use of these technologies to engage in conduct or behaviour that is derogatory, defamatory, degrading, illegal or abusive."

The CTF commissioned a national poll that found 34 per cent of people surveyed knew of students who had been targeted by cyberbullies in the past year. Twenty per cent of respondents knew of teachers who had been cyberbullied.