The proliferation of technology and social media has given rise to the scourge of cyberbullying, with South Africa topping the list in terms of the overall highest incidence of cyberbullying, according to international research.
The 2018 study, conducted by marketing group Ipsos, interviewed 20 793 people from 28 countries, found that more than half (54%) of South African parents know of a child in their community experiencing cyberbullying, which is a substantially larger percentage than the overall average of 33%.
The study also showed that in the majority of cases (51%), cyberbullying was carried out by a child’s classmate, while for South African parents this figure stood at 67%. Other perpetrators included other youths who were strangers to the victims (29%), familiar adults (15%) and unknown adults (14%).
“Cyberbullying is alarmingly prevalent in South Africa and severely affects thousands of adolescents and teens on a daily basis,” says Candice Sutherland, cyber insurance underwriter at specialist risk insurer iTOO. “Children’s access to electronic devices and the internet has created the unfortunate risk of online abuse, which can have profound health and psychological impact on the victim.”
She adds: “While adults can also become victims of online abuse by people who hide behind social media profiles, cyberbullying tends to have much harsher and more detrimental effects on children, with many young people going as far as taking their own lives as a result.”
In South Africa, suicide accounts for 9,5% of all unnatural teen deaths. The National Youth Risk Behaviour Survey shows that 17,6% of teens have considered attempting suicide, while 31,5% of teen suicide attempts required medical treatment.
The Cyberbullying Research Centre defines cyberbullying as “wilful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cellphones and other electronic devices”. Essentially, cyberbullying occurs when a person uses the internet, emails, text messages, instant messaging, social media websites, online forums, chat rooms or other digital platform to harass, threaten or humiliate a child or teen.
Sutherland notes that, unlike offline bullying, online abuse does not stop at the end of the school day, since children have 24/7 access to electronic devices, meaning there is often no relief from online harassment for the victim.
“What makes this form of abuse even worse is that cyberbullying does not allow the victim to get any respite from it, as it’s always there. It is much more difficult to escape, because when you pick up your phone it’s there,” she explains.
South Africa’s Cyber Crimes Act 19 of 2020 was signed into law in May but has yet to come into effect. This Act aims to protect the public and categorises certain cyber threats as criminal offences, including malicious or harmful messages that threaten destruction to one’s person or property, or threaten to distribute sensitive information.
Currently, cyberbullying victims have to rely on other criminal and/or civil law remedies, such as obtaining a protection order, says Sutherland. She adds that victims can also report a crime incidental to cyberbullying, such as crimen injuria, sexual exploitation and grooming or criminal defamation.
“Unfortunately, the cost of addressing cyber bullying can be huge considering that legal consultation fees can run into thousands of rands per hour, and legal intervention is often needed to put a stop to the abuse and bring the perpetrators to justice.”
The extent of cyberbullying in South Africa has prompted some specialist risk insurers, including iTOO, to launch cyberbullying insurance products that address financial and legal burdens of online abuse.