A national survey of 642 American parents conducted by Thomson Reuter’s Fraud Prevention and Investigations business unit concluded that parents are more likely to report cyberbullying to local law enforcement rather than school officials.
According to the survey, if the parents learned that their child was the victim of cyberbullying, 36 percent of parents would turn to the local police, as opposed to 29 percent who would turn to the local school officials.
One explanation of this trend may be that although half of the parents indicated very or somewhat alarmed by cyberbullying, the majority of parents did not know if their child’s school has a policy to address it.
On a similar note, a different survey was conducted on U.S. law enforcements by Thomson Reuters and PoliceOne.com.
In this survey, 48 percent of law enforcement agencies report increase in time spent investigating cyberbullying, bullying and school violence. However, 76 percent reported that training to handle cybebullying complaints has been insufficient, displaying the ill-equipped nature of law enforcement agencies in dealing with these problems.
“Though cyber bullying is a challenging issue for students, parents, school officials and law enforcement, these statistics suggest that people want to work together to understand the issue, protect kids from cyber bullying, and help kids understand the serious consequences of participating in cyber bullying,” stated Jason Thomas, manager of Innovation for Thomson Reuters.
More About ETCB:
The End to Cyber Bullying Organization is the world’s number one source for up-to-date cyberbullying information, news, legislature, and cyberbullying prevention tips. ETCB is instantly accessible online, and phone assistance by certified and professional cyber bullying counselors is available to any inquiring individuals. Highlighting cyberbullying as a leading issue in today’s technological society and raising awareness throughout the web and throughout communities is the first and primary step to putting an end to cyberbullying.
A 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, ETCB is an international cyberbullying awareness campaign that has united over 4.5 million individuals internationally. Youth initiatives have started up in not only the fifty states, but also in nations such as China and the UK. Partnering with other organizations, such as the Girl Scouts of USA and Sears Anti-Bullying Coalition, has enabled us to outreach even further. All of the money raised has been utilized to continue expanding ETCB, helping to increase the impact we’ve made. Most importantly, we are grateful to have comforted and served thousands of cyberbullying victims of all ages. Future victims no longer need to feel as isolated and helpless as I once did.
