ONLINE HATE

1. DEALING WITH ONLINE HATE

1.1. Hate crime committed whether online or offline is illegal

1.2. If the online hate is based on race, religion and sexual orientation then this can be considered as a crime. For content that does not meet the threshold of a hate crime, the police are required to record it as a hate incident.

1.3. Most social media platforms have community guidelines and specific policies on hate speech - outlining what is and isn’t allowed on the platform. If a user breaks these rules their account can be blocked or removed from the platform. Some platforms use artificial intelligence as well as moderators to spot harmful content, so it’s picked up early on. However, a lot of the policing of hate speech on social platforms relies on users reporting it to the platform so action can be taken

1.4. REPORT IT

1.4.1. Block the perpetrator immediately and report it to the school.

1.4.2. Report online hate material to the website admin – most websites have rules known as ‘acceptable use policies’ and platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

1.4.3. Report it to the hosting company – If the website itself is hateful or supports violence then let the website’s hosting company know. You can find out which company hosts a website by entering their web address on

2. WHAT IS ONLINE HATE

2.1. People perpetrating online hate speech are motivated by a desire to amuse, harass or embarrass their targets.

2.2. Online hate speech is most likely to occur between strangers.

2.3. Hate speech is mostly found in social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram or in everyday applications such as email.

2.4. Usually: Online communication or expression which encourages or promotes hatred, discrimination or violence, against any person or group, because of their race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity.

3. NETSAFE

3.1. Provides online safety help, support, expertise and education services.

3.2. An agency that receives, assess and investigates complaints about online bullying, harassment and abuse under the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015.

3.3. Carries out research to help form research-based insights about online behaviours and the impact of digital communications.

4. references

4.1. https://www.esafety.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-01/Hate%20speech-Report.pdf www.netsafe.org.nz https://www.internetmatters.org/resources/tackling-online-hate-and-trolling/

5. STATISTICS

5.1. 40% of young people are victims

5.2. 20% of young people aged 8-17 (high school students) are cyberbullied once in a 12month period

5.3. 463,000 young people are cyberbullied each year in Austrailia.

5.4. Some victims are only cyberbullied once or twice in a 12 month period.

5.5. 36% of people experiencing online hate speech took some form of action: blocking the contact, reporting it or speaking to a friend or family member.

5.6. Despite 64% of people experiencing hate speech taking no action, 58% report a negative impact from their experience, typically mental or emotional stress, relationship problems or reputational damage.

5.7. One third of children have occurred hate speech online.

5.8. Children aged 5-15 spend an average of just over 15 hours on the internet each week.

5.9. 33% of parents and students are worried about being exposed to hate-speech online.

5.10. one-third of children are worried about being targeted in online hate material.

6. EFFECTS OF ONLINE HATE

6.1. Impacts a persons mental health, general wellbeing and online engagement.

6.2. It can lead to harassment and violence offline.

6.3. It can normalise discrimination, hateful attitudes and behaviours towards certain groups of people.

6.4. Victims of online hate may show: - low self-esteem sleeping disorders - increased anxiety and feelings of fear and insecurity - feeling lonely or isolated - feeling embarrassed, therefore want to deal with the problem by themselves.

7. TIPS TO SUPPORT YOUR CHILD

7.1. Tip 1 – Make sure they know to treat others as they want to be treated

7.2. Tip 2 – Advise them not to spread hateful or threatening content online but report it

7.3. Tip 3 – Tell them not to say something online that they wouldn’t say face-to-face

7.4. Tip 4 – Ensure they’re aware of the community guides on the platforms they use, such as Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook. Find out more here

7.5. Tip 5 – Ask them if they know about online hate, would they recognise it?

7.6. Tip 6 – Encourage your children to have an open attitude and honest curiosity about other people because some instances of hate speech are based on ignorance or false information

7.7. Tip 7 – Look for terms that might creep into your child’s vocabulary. Sometimes kids (and adults) use harmful terms without realising