The Staffordshire branches of two national advocacy groups have pledged their support to a campaign led by Staffordshire Police to stem the tide of cyberbullying in the county.
Staffordshire Women’s Aid and Victim Support have joined #urNOTinvisible – a campaign that has been developed in response to police statistics that show a 25% increase in offences reported in the year to May 2014 in comparison to the year before. The number linked to social media doubled during this period, to nearly 20%. Over half of all offences reported took place within domestic relationships.
The 53% (813) of the offences within the county took place in north, compared to the south’s (714). The highest incidences within each were southern Stoke (197) and Cannock (158) respectively, with the majority involving Facebook and to a lesser extent, Twitter.
#urNOTinvisible is part of a co-ordinated effort to increase awareness that sending threatening or abusive messages is an offence, to empower victims with the know-how to protect themselves more effectively and co-operate with authorities to help bring offenders to justice.
The campaign will feature a specially-created microsite – www.urNOTinvisible.org.uk – carrying related news, the answers to frequently asked questions, campaign and social media updates plus a chance to take a quiz challenge to test cyber awareness. The campaign also aims to encourage the public not to use technology for making comments they would not make in person and to remember that once typed, harmful words cannot be retracted.
Chief Superintendent Jeff Moore, who commissioned the report into cyberbullying, also leads local policing across the south of the county. He said:
“Communication technology offers so much to society but unfortunately it also provides a means that offenders can use to bully and threaten others. We are encouraging people to take more care when using social media. Facebook, Twitter and mobile phone networks don’t want people to abuse their platforms and so offer advice and help.
“The security settings provided help to keep people safer but many users bypass them. We want people to be take care, to understand your profile and what can be done to stay safe; also for them to make use of the service providers’ policies by reporting abuse to the relevant ones.
“As distressing as these messages may be, it is crucial that they are not deleted as they could become evidence in a criminal investigation. We can be contacted on telephone 101 but it is important to remember, 999 is the number to call if anyone feels they are in immediate physical danger from any of these messages.”
Dickie James is the Chief Executive of Staffordshire Women’s Aid, an award-winning charity that has been supporting female, male and child victims of domestic and sexual violence in the county for nearly 40 years. She added:
“As use of social media has grown, the problem of harassment and bullying has also grown, and our work with victims shows that this can be an extremely intimidating and relentless form of abuse. Yet often, those using social media to bully, seem to believe that they are invisible and can get away with whatever they type.
“We are very much behind this innovative campaign because it speaks directly to perpetrators of abuse, to those who use social media platforms to harass and bully. The message is very clear: they are not invisible, and what they are doing is a crime. The campaign also has the potential to help victims of these forms of abuse to feel better protected.”
Melina Hancox is the Divisional Manager for Victim Support in Staffordshire, which combines supporting victims and witnesses in relation to violent and abusive crimes with campaigning and research. She said:
“As a charity that’s supported millions of crime victims over the years, we know that abuse is damaging to its victims and has long-term effect on them. Verbal abuse and coercive behaviour has the same impact, whether it’s delivered in person or by a text or social media message. It creates fear.
“It may feel like there’s nothing that can be done to stop an abuser, but this isn’t the case as there are lots of easy, practical steps that can be taken.”
Included among the county organisations that are supporting #urNOTinvisible are Chase Against Crimes of Hate, Challenge North Staffs, Pathway Project, Savana and The Salvation Army in Cannock, Hednesford, Longton and Stoke-on-Trent.
Anyone who would like to support the campaign and encourage others by sharing how cyberbullying has impacted their lives, can log their details on the microsite or contact a partner organisation.
Related Posts:
