YWAG on Cyberbullying

Abianda's Young Women's Advisory Group (YWAG) have been looking into the 16 days of Activism and were asked to share their thoughts on a particular aspect of Digital Violence. They were asked the following questions on their topic, focusing on Cyberbullying...

Why this topic is important to you individually?

This topic is important to me as I have seen how negatively cyberbullying affects people’s mental health. Especially young people who are already going through many transitions in their personal lives, cyberbullying can cause people to feel isolated and unsafe. Cyberbullying also happens all too often without the proper consequences for those that engage in it and the proper support for those on the receiving end of it.

This topic is important to me as I have witnessed the snowball effect when it comes to cyberbullying. One comment quickly becomes a storm of them as young people can see this as a chance to escalate it and join in without thinking about the long term damage of it and because it has become so normalised the lack of support for victims is scary. It is often preached to young people to ‘stand up to bullies!’ and ‘tell someone asap!’ but the fallout of this tends to be more traumatic than the initial bullying, which is very worrying. 

This topic is important to me as I believe it widely impacts the young people in our society/community today. (Me being one of them)

I feel as though in comparison to other topics suggested such as; leaked nudes/catfishing etc.. Cyberbullying is highly neglected.

Instead of being belittled , this topic should be studied & researched further to understand its profound negative impacts on mental health and also how best to support the Young women & girls  that have/are experiencing this.

What do you want/wish young women and girls to know about this topic?

I would like young women and girls to know that if they are experiencing cyberbullying they should report it to someone they trust as their safety is the most important thing.

What’s online can last forever.. and may often leave a digital footprint. It’s  important to document physically and mentally the things you have experienced, such as taking screenshots/ notes etc  and  telling a responsible/reliable adult, keeping yourself and other potential victims from harm/harassment 

I would like young women to know it is not their fault and that, luckily, they will not be trapped in this situation forever.

Why would it be good for young women and girls to know this information?

It’s important for them to know so they don’t feel like they have to go through things alone and that they can get the support that they need. 

It is important to know that there is a lot they can do to regain control after experiencing cyberbullying.

I think it would be good to know this information so that young people are firstly self aware and also able develop a safe space where their experiences’ are understood, supported and recognised by themselves and others

If a young woman has been affected by an act of digital violence, what would you want them to know about themselves to overcome/keep going?

I would want young women to know that they are important and that they matter. I would also want them to know that it’s not their fault and that they deserve to be happy and feel safe online. 

I would want them to know that experiencing this does not define your value, character or potential and that they deserve support. 

I would like them to know that the experience they have gone through does not define them. You are strong and overcoming! I would want them to feel comfortable and confident when online and using social media but also know what To do and who to notify for help  if they ever find themselves in a similar situation again.