FREE TO BE ONLINE? REPORT
Ms JODIE HARRISON (Charlestown) (12:41): By leave: I thank the member for Wallsend for moving this incredibly important motion. Social media can be a wonderful thing. It can connect friends and family members across vast distances, and certainly during COVID‑19 social media was a really wonderful way for people to keep connected. But there is a dark side to social media, and as a member of the Committee on Children and Young People I was involved in the 2016 report into the sexualisation of children. The committee heard evidence that cyberbullying and online harassment is widespread and has serious impacts on our children and young people. In a submission to the inquiry Youth Action, which is the peak advocacy body for young people in New South Wales, wrote:
… a survey carried out by the National Children's and Youth Law Centre found that girls were more likely than boys to report experiencing (or knowing someone who has experienced) most types of cyber bullying. Consequences of this kind of harassment can include emotional distress and shame for the victims, as well as permanent damage to their digital footprint, and of course, potential legal repercussions if either party are under the age of 18.
This is not just a problem in New South Wales. As we know, the internet makes it really easy to interact with the rest of the world. Plan International is a charity for girls' equality and itsFree to Be Online? report, which has been spoken about previously in this place, illustrates the extent of the dark side of social media for girls and young women. The headline figures from the report are alarming. Thousands of girls and young women across 32 countries were surveyed for the report, and in every country girls reported that they had been exposed to explicit messages, pornographic photos, cyberstalking and other forms of abuse. More than half of the 14,000 girls surveyed—in fact, 59 per cent—reported that they had been targeted with abusive and insulting language, 41 per cent reported deliberate embarrassment and 39 per cent reported body shaming. Most disturbingly, 39 per cent of respondents said they had been targeted with threats of sexual violence.
Locally, one mother recently said that she discovered her 12-year-old daughter had started an Instagram account without her knowledge. When the mum intervened to delete the profile she checked a number of unopened direct messages, and to her horror and disturbance she discovered that many were harassing, abusive and openly sexual in nature. We cannot overestimate the damage that exposure to that sort of harassment can do, and Youth Action identified some of the impacts. Unfortunately the nature of our digitally connected world means that it is often difficult for girls and young women to escape that abuse and harassment. That is why I support the motion's call for the Attorney General to reform the legislative framework to deal with online harassment and violence against girls and women.
There is some good news in this area, as previous speakers have said. Federally comment has recently been sought on the draft Online Safety Bill 2021, aimed at improving Australia's overall online safety legislation. I also recognise the New South Wales Government's previous attempts to address those concerns with amendments to the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 in 2019—the amendments named Dolly's law after Amy "Dolly" Everett tragically took her own life after sustained cyberbullying. But there is more to be done in this State. As the member for Seven Hills said, all that we can do must be done. That is what the motion calls for. Cyberbullying and sexual harassment of young women online is still happening, and we in this Parliament need to do our bit to ensure that young women and girls are provided protection from that. I commend the motion to the House.
This speech was given in support of the following Motion:
That the NSW Legislative Assembly:
- Notes a recent report entitled Free To Be Online? shared experiences of young women and girls who faced harassment on social media platforms.
- Notes it is clear that little is done to protect girls and young women online
- Calls on the Attorney General to reform legislative frameworks to deal with online harassment and violence against all girls and young women.
You can read the rest of the debate on Hansard and you can read the Free to Be Online report here.
