The Michigan section of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee has created a program to aid victims of online bullying. These actions were taken in response to recent trends of growing issues of cyberbullying. By classifying cyberbullying as a civil rights violations, they hope to slow the growth and impact of cyberbullying.
“With an advancement in technology, we, too, have seen an advancement in discrimination against women and a violation of their safety,” said ADC Michigan Director Fatina Abdrabboh. “Cyberspaces have been exploited as a means of egging onto male supremacy and this poses a serious threat to women’s equal rights as well as their well-being. this is not an issue society can only hope gets better with time, but, rather, something we need to tackle head on and bury deep in the dirt.”
Women aren’t the only victims of cyberbullying. Statistics show that incidents of cyberbullying has more than tripled in the last year.
This program, called the Cyber Civil Rights Monitor, offers advice to victims, educates people on the dangers of cyberbullying, and advocates for victims of online harassment. Of the many goals, this program aims to:
- Address cyber bullying as an attack on an individual’s civil rights.
- Lobby for legislation criminalizing cyber bullying, revenge porn, and other cyber sexual assaults.
- Raise national awareness of cyber civil rights.
- Promote cyber civil rights advocacy campaigns in schools and universities.
- Create an ADC Cyber Monitor to identify perpetrators and advocate for criminal prosecution.
- Create an ADC Michigan Cyber Civil Rights Task Force with broad based groups to empower victims of cyber sexual assaults and cyber bullying.
- Provide a venue for victims of cyber bullying to receive legal guidance and support.
- Promote an environment of tolerance online.
The actions taken by ADC Michigan are steps toward a society safe from online harassment.
