By Eric Spacek, JD, ARM
“Cyber bullying” — defined by National Crime Prevention Council as using the Internet, cell phones or other devices to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person — is a growing epidemic in America.
According to National Education Association, cyber bullying affects nearly half of America’s teens, with 160,000 students staying home each day out of fear of attack or intimidation. Bullying was once restricted to areas such as the classroom or the playground; but, with the rise of technology, bullying can now happen 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Taking action to protect the youth and other members of your congregation is important. Do so by implementing a policy against cyber bullying which promotes:
No tolerance — Inform members in writing that your church doesn’t tolerate cyber bullying by members or participants in its activities.
Accessibility — Show members that your church is open, accessible and supportive with regard to cyber bullying, so there’s no hesitation by a victim to report it.
Education — Educate members on cyber bullying, and how to respond if it occurs.
Response by the victim
The following are recommended responses for a victim, should cyber bullying occur:
- Print out all instances of cyber bullying.
- Preserve electronic evidence. (Take a screenshot, or store the message in a folder. Electronic information can help law enforcement trace the
- Report improper content and use to the associated website or Internet Service Provider (ISP).
- Don’t respond to, or retaliate against, the sender. This might escalate the situation.
- Don’t pass along cyber bullying messages to others.
- Block the sender. (If a person is a repeat offender, the phone company can be contacted to block his or her number. Websites or ISPs can block specific users or email addresses.)
- Tell a trusted adult — a youth leader, parent, teacher, social worker or law enforcement officer.
- Call the police if you feel you or someone you know is in danger.
Response by the church
When cyber bullying occurs within your church community, take the following actions, as necessary:
- If your church has computers available for members’ use, cyber bullying should be prohibited as a part of your acceptable use policy.
- If cyber bullying is proven to occur, the violator of the policy should be prohibited from further use of the computer facilities.
- If the incident occurs on your website or social media page, such as Facebook, the site administrator should remove the content, but only after it has been saved.
- The appropriate administrator also should be proactive in notifying the parent/guardian of both victim and perpetrator, if they’re known.
Have an open conversation
Unfortunately, the instances of cyber bullying affecting youth are only increasing. Spend some time addressing cyber bullying during your youth groups or meetings. Consider inviting experts on cyber bullying from among the community to these events, and invite parents to attend. This way, everyone can be informed on the best ways to handle these situations, and steps to take if an incident were to occur.
Additionally, make sure youth who feel they’ve been bullied are aware of their avenues of support — and reiterate that the church is one of those channels.
Eric Spacek, JD, ARM is senior church risk management & loss control manager at GuideOne Insurance in West Des Moines, IA.
