Harassment Beyond Borders; Can Victims Be Protected By Cyber Bullying In Sri Lanka?
By Aparrajitha Ariyadasa –APRIL 15, 2019
“The task force comprises members from the NCPA, the Attorney General’s Department, the Police Department, the Ministry of Justice, and the NGO community. The Task Force will immediately start taking action to investigate and prosecute to the full extent of the law those using the internet or mobile devices for purposes of bullying, harassing, stalking, or extortion of children and young persons” – Daily MirrorEven though Research and practice have mostly focused on the “bright side” of social media, aiming to understand and help in leveraging the manifold opportunities afforded by this technology, it is increasingly observable that social media present enormous risks for individuals, communities, firms, and even the whole of society as per the above statement. Examples for this “dark side” of social media include cyberbullying, Cyber stalking, addictive use, trolling, online witch hunts, fake news, and privacy abuse. In this article, I aim to illustrate the multidimensionality of the dark side of social media and describe the related various undesirable outcomes. To do this, we adapt the established social media honeycomb framework to explain the dark side implications of each of the seven functional building blocks: conversations, sharing, presence, relationships, reputation, groups, and identity. On the basis of these reflections, we present a number of avenues for future research, so as to facilitate a better understanding and use of social media.
Over the past two decades, technology has gushed into businesses, communities, and the lives of individuals, altering the way that people communicate, study, work, and interact. People in various parts of the world can communicate in real time on a variety of devices such as cell phones, tablets, or computers. A photo, video, text message, or email may be viewed by a single individual, shared with another or “go viral” and spread to hundreds of thousands of users in a matter of minutes. Technology is continuously improving, which in turn influences the way that people interact by promoting global communication and allowing individuals to connect with others more readily. However, the Internet and related technology have also become new mediums for misconduct, in that communications via the Internet can be used to threaten, harass, intimidate, and cause harm to others.
What Is Cyber-Harasment (CH), Cyber Stalking (CS) And Sexting?
Cyber bullying
Several definitions have been given to the word “Cyber” by various authorities. As per the Cambridge Dictionary, “Cyber” means “involving, using or relating to computers, especially the internet”. Oxford Dictionary says that “Relating to or characteristic of the culture of computers, information technology, and virtual reality” is called “cyber”. “Bullying” is defined by Cambridge Dictionary as, “someone who hurts or frightens someone else, often over a period of time, and often forcing them to do something that they do not want to do” and also by the Oxford Dictionary as, “Seek to harm, intimidate, or coerce (someone perceived as vulnerable)”and the person who habitually seeks to harm or intimidate those whom they perceive as vulnerable”.
Cyber bullying per say, is defined as “The use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature, by the Oxford Dictionary . Therefore, my opinion is that ‘Cyber Bullying” could be defined as “ the use of electronic communication, internet or virtual space to hurt and/or frighten and/or someone else, often over a period of time, and often forcing them to do something that they do not want to do, often forcing them to do something that they do not want to do and/or harm and/or intimidate and/ or coerce (someone perceived as vulnerable)”
And also these are forms of bullying or harassment using electronic means which has drastically being increased over the past decades. Cyberbullying and Cyber Harassment are also known as online bullying. It has become increasingly common, especially among youth. Cyberbullying is when someone, bully or harass others on social media, internet, or internet communications such as whatsapp, viber, skype, you tube etc. Harmful bullying behavior can include posting rumors, threats, sexual remarks, a victims’ personal information, or pejorative labels (i.e., hate speech). Bullying or harassment can be identified by repeated behavior and an intent to harm. Victims may have lower self-esteem, increased suicidal ideation, and a variety of emotional responses, including being scared, frustrated, angry, and depressed.
As per the “Webster”, “Repeated use of electronic communications to harass or frighten someone, for example by sending threatening emails is called Cyber Stalking”. The current state of understanding Cyber Stalking (CS) and Cyber Harassment (CH) have become prevalent problems that warrant the attention of Sri Lankan legislatures and the governments including Sri Lanka. Although no national estimates of the extent and pervasiveness of these crimes exist, studies of various countries cause for concern.
UN Special Representative of the Secretary General states that “Bullying affects a high percentage of children, compromising their health, emotional well-being and academic work, and is associated with long-lasting consequences continuing on into adulthood. Growing access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) places children at risk of online abuse, increasing their vulnerability to cyberbullying. Online or in person, bullying has a serious impact on both the victim and the perpetrator. Moreover, bullying comes at a high cost to society”
Results from Sri Lanka showed that from the Law enforcing Authority which is CID, says that in 2018, there were more than 1000 cyber bullying complaints were reported. Approximately 90% of University students had suffered from cyberbullying and Almost all survey participants have said they knew people who had been bullied online, 80% of cyberbullying offenses took place on social media with Facebook being the most common bullying site, The most prevalent bullying offense among university students was the posting of embarrassing videos or photos (65%); posting private information of victims on the web was second (15%) followed by spreading gossip or lies (9%) and posting insults (2%) According to a recent study in Sri Lanka, approximately 90% of university students have been victims of CH. (Island.lk, 26.11.2017)
SRI LANKA 