By Jithendri Gomez

Following the COVID-19 pandemic and having to limit ourselves to technology to get most things done, the use of devices increased significantly over the last year in Sri Lanka. This year began with those being admitted to Garde One classes all dressed up in their new uniforms sitting in front of a laptop or mobile phone watching their welcome program on a screen, giving us an insight into what the rest of the year will look like. Looking at these 5 -6-year old’s, one wonders how we can protect them against the world they have at their fingertips.

“The National Child Protection Authority’s (NCPA) child helpline, 1929, has seen an increase of 30% in complaints involving cruelty against children from the start of the country’s lockdown, making it highly probable that instances of online violence have increased as well.” With the numbers increasing, the focus on the impact it has on the victims must be addressed.

In this reality where engaging online has become a necessity, the possibility for the exploitation of the same increases. To understand what cyberbullying is “it is defined as behaviors that criminally assault, or can lead to assault, of a person’s physical, psychological or emotional well-being and such behavior is carried out or experienced by an individual or group online, over mobile phones, during internet games, etc. Examples of cyber violence include cyberstalking, cyberbullying, revenge porn, posting nudes, graphic and/or private content of the victim without his/her consent, and grooming (especially in the case of minors). Cyber violence is identified as a crime when it fits into the definition of offenses found in the laws of Sri Lanka.  The Women In Need report speaks of multiple cases where women had to face many difficulties with cybercrime. One such case was of Roshani, who was blackmailed by her boyfriend with intimate pictures she had shared with him previously. In addition to misusing the pictures she had shared in confidence, he even had control over all of her social media accounts and passwords. This is only one example; the study mentions many other experiences from across Sri Lanka.

To understand it further UNICEF defines it to be “repeated behavior, aimed at scaring, angering or shaming those who are targeted. Examples include: spreading lies about or posting embarrassing photos of someone on social media, sending hurtful messages or threats via messaging platforms or impersonating someone and sending mean messages to others on their behalf.” The article goes on to mention that one advantage that the victim may have over physical bullying is that cyberbullying will leave a cyber footprint that can provide evidence to stop the bullying and accuse the culprit.

Being targeted by a cyberbully may increase the victim’s risk of anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, or even feelings of worthlessness. Hackensackmeridianhealth.org provides a list of behavioural changes to keep a lookout for to identify if someone is being bullied.

• Spends less time with friends
• Becoming more quiet and withdrawn
• Losing interest in activities that usually engage in and refusing altogether
• Inability to concentrate on schoolwork or homework
• Trouble sleeping or being restless
• Refusing to go to school often
• Abruptly stop using their phone
• Saying things about life being meaningless or showcasing signs of depression

Especially if the victim is below the age of 18 these symptoms are what parents must be on the lookout for. Before moving to the stage of reporting about the incident, the article also suggests ways in which parents or adults can play a supportive role with the victims by to really listen, and be supportive of their feelings, figure out together what to do to help your child feel safe, changing the privacy controls on your child’s social media accounts, limiting who can contact them and blocking cyberbullies, gather evidence of cyberbullying incidents, including screenshots, plus the times and dates of attacks, help the victim heal emotionally, with the help of a mental health professional, if needed, consider using a parental control app that screens texts, apps and social media platforms for signs of cyberbullying.

A study titled Cyberbullying in High Schools: A Study of Students’ Behaviors and Beliefs about This New Phenomenon presented the following statistics from when Participants were asked a hypothetical question: If you were cyberbullied at school or at home, would you report the incident to a school counselor, teacher, or administrator? “Less than 18% responded “Probably yes,” and over 80% answered “No.” What were the main reasons students chose not to report the incident? Over 17% said they did not think the school staff would understand or believe them; close to half did not think the school would or could do anything to stop it. Nearly 18% thought they could get themselves into trouble either because they might also be at fault or for no reason. More than 28% worried that it could exacerbate the problem; over one-fifth of the students were concerned that other students would make fun of them. Close to 27% worried that their parents might restrict their access to the technology. Although 23% of the students believed they needed to learn to deal with cyberbullying, close to 45% thought people should simply ignore cyberbullying because it was “no big deal.” These statistics, unfortunately, represent a majority of children across the world, which proves that it is something that both the school system and the home front should pay more attention to.

This is new territory for most parents and teachers and it is something that must be dealt with very carefully. Creating a safe environment for children to approach you at home or in school if they are facing a problem should be the first step. If the child feels like they will be punished or judged for what has happened, they will try to continue and hide from the adults. The reaction you have as an adult and how you approach problems, in general, will give them an understanding of whether they can come to you or not. It is also important to explain to them the importance of protecting themselves on these various online platforms starting from what information you should share and what you must keep private. There are technological solutions like parental control apps, but they must be installed keeping the child informed and helping them understand that it is for their own safety as opposed to you not trusting them. Taking the next step of reporting or any legal actions must also be consulted with the child, as much as it is important it is the victim who has to go through the experience.

Teachers can play a key role in countering cyberbullying by speaking about it at school, especially when conducting lessons online. Most schools also have a counselor onboard where children are allowed to meet during school hours and the need for those counselors also to be equipped with responding to cyberbullying is becoming increasingly important.

Most Sri Lankans, unfortunately, have a negative approach when it comes to speaking about their mental health and our shame-based culture certainly does not give you the ability to freely express yourself either. The most recent incident that caught the media’s attention was when a female celebrity in Sri Lanka fell victim to such a crime when her face was edited into a pornographic video and made shared publicly. She chose to speak openly about the horrific incident and share the implications it had on her brought attention to cyberbullying and the implications it has on the victim. Coinciding with this, a few days later saw the launch of a mobile app named ‘Cyber Care’ supported by the UNDP and many other organizations. “The Cyber Care App, a timely initiative built by youth, for youth, aims to raise awareness on cyber violence including the relevant laws and regulations in Sri Lanka of cyber-crimes; offer interesting gaming features as means of raising further awareness; provide important information on helplines and authorities or organizations that assist victims of cyber violence; provide news on incidents relating to cyber violence, and gamified ways of learning about cyber violence among other features.” (1) The App is also geared to create awareness on the matter, which is lacking in Sri Lanka.

Most victims are also found to be hesitant to report their experiences to relevant authorities. This could be as a result of the failures in our systems or not being able to speak of their experiences as a result of the effect it had on them. “Women In Need counselors and legal officers stated that many women who seek help and advice make it very clear that they do not wish to go to court due to fear, shame, and the possibility of a long-drawn-out hearing. However even if such cases go to court, such laws only punish the act that fits the definition of the respective offense, the broader harm that is caused by use of technology is not accounted for.”

However, if you are a victim yourself some ways in which you can deal with cyberbullying is by:

1. Report the incident and block the user: Most social media websites and apps now have tools that can help in such situations. You can both block the user and report the incident. Whether these sites will assist you with taking the content down is questionable.
2. Seek help: It is always better to share your experiences with at least one person if you can. As in some instances, it can lead to extremes of death and rape threats.
3. Avoid retaliating or responding: This may be easier said than done, but try not responding to someone who is being unreasonable and offensive. It could be exactly what the abuser is expecting and can snowball into something worse.
4. Don’t delete the evidence: Take screenshots of the abuse so you can use it to strengthen your case. Do it even if you don’t want to take legal action – you might change your mind tomorrow.
5. Don’t post identifying information online: Even sharing your location when sharing a post falls under this as it can reveal where you live or where you visit often.

Reporting in Sri Lanka

It is important to hold the abusers accountable, however, the reporting structure in Sri Lanka may still not be functioning at its optimum. The victim has the option to walk into their local police station or one of their choice and lodge a formal complaint. However, there is a possibility that the victim may be further victimized. There are also ways in which you can report the incident without physically having to be at the authorities.

The National Child Protection Authority for victims under 18 years of age.

Contact 1929 – the NCPA hotline is toll-free, available 24 hours. Visit childprotection.gov.lk for more information. The NCPA also has several resources for children and parents on online safety which can be accessed here: childprotection.gov.lk/?page_id=2211

The CID Cyber Crimes Division

You do not have to call them, you can visit this link and make your report online. The platform allows you to report incidents of cybercrime as well. The link is telligp.police.lk

Sri Lanka CERT

Sri Lanka’s Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) was set up in collaboration with ICTA as a resource organization to respond to cyber-attacks. However, they do respond to complaints of cyber-violence as well, particularly if the incident took place on Facebook. You can lodge your complaint by:

Filling a form on their website: cert.gov.lk

Contacting them via telephone: +94 11 269 1692 / 269 5749 / 267 9888

Sending them a fax message: +94 11 269 1064

Emailing them: report@cert.gov.lk

“Each Divisional Secretariat has a Women and Child Development Unit that includes essential frontline government officers that can support communities. They include Women Development Officers (WDO); Counselling Officers (COs); National Child Protection Authority Officers (NCPA Officers); Child Rights Promotion Officers (CRPO); Early Childhood Development Officer (ECDO) and the Probation Officer. Data suggest that more awareness is necessary to raise awareness of these officers and their respective roles and responsibilities.” The report proves that there is help for those who need it, especially counseling services.

In conclusion, it does seem like Sri Lanka is moving in the right direction by tackling cyberbullying and its mental implications. With more processes being put in place and encouraging innovations to curtail the matter along with creating more awareness. However, the very same system seems to be the reason behind a victim choosing to suffer in silence. More work needs to be done with officers who are put in place to report the incidents at government institutions. More help must also be made available to those who need it, or the ones already in place equipped further and made available to the grassroots.

About the Writer 

Jithendri Gomes currently serves as the operations administrator for both Global Unites and Sri Lanka Unites. She also writes as a freelance journalist and was last associated with The Sunday Morning. She is currently also following her Masters in Development Studies and Public Policy at the Open University of Sri Lanka.