Cyber Bullying - Bullying on Mobile Phones

Don’t Suffer in Silence

A mobile phone can be a great communications and safetytool for everyone, including children. Unfortunately, some bullies are now using mobile phones to send threatening and unpleasant text messages, and picture messages, eitherdirectly to their victims or to spread malicious rumours.

 

This is not harmless. All bullying is bad.

Bullying is never your choice and is not your fault

Mobile phones are a popular choice for bullies. They provide bullies with the means of taunting their target at any time with little fear of being caught. They believe text messages provide complete anonymity. Many pay-as-you-go mobile phones can be bought easily without proof of identity and in some cases no record of the new owner is kept. The ownersof these types of mobile phone can be difficult to trace, but the calls can be traced.

What can you do?

  • Don’t respond, but don’t ignore it
  • Don’t reply to text messages or picture messages that you don’t want to receive
  • Be careful who you give phone numbers to and don’t leave your mobile where someone can see the number if you are not there
  • Keep a note of the times and dates of abusive messages and always tell a parent, teacher or the police
  • Don’t send a message to someone when you are angry or upset – always wait until you have calmed down and had ime to think
  • Turn your phone off sometimes; it doesn’t have to beswitched on all the time and certainly not at night
  • Don’t leave your name on your voice mail as this confirms to the bullies whose phone they are calling when you have it switched off
  • It may be a nuisance but if the bullying gets out of control, request a new phone number (your mobile phone network operator will be able to offer more advice on this, and may provide a new number for free) and give the number only to close family. Give the number to only one person at a time and keep a careful log of who you’ve given it to and when.

The law is on your side

The current law in Jersey relating to any form of bullying using mobile phones reads as follows: 

Art 51 of the Telecoms (Jersey) Law 2002.

Any person who;

1. sends, by means of a public telecommunication system, a message or other matter that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character

OR

2. for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to another, sends by those means a message that he knows to be false or persistently makes use for that purpose of a public telecommunication system


shall be guilty of an offence.