Cyberbullying Among Young People
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DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT C: CITIZENS' RIGHTS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS CIVIL LIBERTIES, JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS CYBERBULLYING AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE STUDY Abstract This study provides an overview of the extent, scope and forms of cyberbullying in the EU taking into account the age and gender of victims and perpetrators as well as the medium used. Commissioned by the Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the LIBE Committee, the study illustrates the legal and policy measures on cyberbullying adopted at EU and international levels and delineates the EU role in this area. An analysis of legislation and policies aimed at preventing and fighting this phenomenon across the 28 EU Member States is also presented. The study outlines the variety of definitions of cyberbullying across EU Member States and the similarities and differences between cyberbullying, traditional bullying and cyber aggression. Moreover, it presents successful practices on how to prevent and combat cyberbullying in nine selected EU Member States and puts forward recommendations for improving the response at EU and Member State levels. PE 571.367 EN ABOUT THE PUBLICATION This research paper was requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and commissioned, overseen and published by the Policy Department for Citizen's Rights and Constitutional Affairs. Policy Departments provide independent expertise, both in-house and externally, to support European Parliament committees and other parliamentary bodies in shaping legislation and exercising democratic scrutiny over EU external and internal policies. To contact the Policy Department for Citizen's Rights and Constitutional Affairs or to subscribe to its newsletter please write to: [email protected] Research Administrator Responsible Céline Chateau Policy Department C - Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs European Parliament B-1047 Brussels E-mail: [email protected] AUTHORS Ms Virginia Dalla Pozza, Milieu Limited Ms Anna Di Pietro, Milieu Limited Ms Sophie Morel, Milieu Limited Ms Emma Psaila, Milieu Limited SENIOR EXPERTS Dr Vasiliki Artinopoulou (Professor of Criminology in the Sociology Department of Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Athens, Greece) Dr Sonia Livingstone (Professor of Social Psychology, Department of Media and Communications London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK) Dr Aisling Parkes (Lecturer in Law, University College Cork, Ireland) NATIONAL EXPERTS Elena Fries-Tersch (Austria); Nathalie Meurens, Benoit Cavez (Belgium); Raya Raychinova (Bulgaria); Christodoulou-Varotsi (Cyprus); Hana Spanikova (Czech Republic); Damir Petrovic (Croatia); Nina Smith (Denmark); Laura Isotalo (Finland); Sophie Morel (France); Katalin Adamis-Császár (Hungary); Gillian Kelly (Ireland); Linda De Keyser (Latvia); Lyra Jakuleviciene, Lijana Štarienė (Lithuania); Laura Jacques (Luxembourg); Emma Psaila (Malta); Marta Silva (Portugal); Zuzana Lukacova (Slovakia); Neža Kogovšek Šalamon, Katarina Vučko (Slovenia); Ana Gomez Rojo (Spain). AUTHORS OF THE COUNTRY REPORTS Andra Siibak (Estonia); Lukas Rass-Masson (Germany); Elina Lampropoulou (Greece); Anna Di Pietro and Virginia Dalla Pozza (Italy); Trijntje Vollink and Francine Dehue (Netherlands); Jacek Pyzalski (Poland); Raluca Tomsa (Romania); Elza Dunkels (Sweden); Liam Hackett (United Kingdom). LINGUISTIC VERSION Original: EN Manuscript completed in July 2016. © European Union, 2016. This document is available on the Internet at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/supporting-analyses DISCLAIMER The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorised, provided the source is acknowledged and the publisher is given prior notice and sent a copy. Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs ____________________________________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 6 LIST OF TABLES 7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 8 1. INTRODUCTION 14 1.1. Background 14 1.2. Objective of the study 15 1.3. Methodological approach 16 1.4. Roadmap 18 2. CYBERBULLYING IN THE EU 19 2.1. The phenomenon of cyberbullying 20 2.2. Definitions of cyberbullying 21 2.2.1. UN definitions 21 2.2.2. EU definitions 22 2.2.3. Definitions by academia 23 2.2.4. Definitions at national level 24 2.2.5. Perceptions of cyberbullying of adults and young people 25 2.3. Overview of cyberbullying in the EU 26 2.3.1. Extent and scope of the phenomenon 26 2.3.2. Forms of cyberbullying 28 2.3.3. Means used 28 2.3.4. Age 29 2.3.5. Gender 32 2.3.6. Link between victims and perpetrators within cyberbullying and traditional bullying 34 3. EU AND INTERNATIONAL LEGAL AND POLICY FRAMEWORK ON CYBERBULLYING 36 3.1. EU and international legal and policy standards on cyberbullying 37 3.1.1. International level 37 3.1.2. Regional level: Council of Europe 39 3.2. The EU role on cyberbullying 41 3.2.1. EU competence on cyberbullying 41 3.2.2. EU legally binding measures not specific to cyberbullying 44 3.2.3. EU non-legally binding measures 46 4 Cyberbullying among young people ____________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. LEGISLATIVE/POLICY RESPONSE AND MONITORING OF CYBERBULLYING AT NATIONAL LEVEL 51 4.1. Overview of data and data collection systems on cyberbullying among young people 52 4.1.1. Data in the 28 EU Member States 52 4.1.2. Data collection systems on cyberbullying among young people 55 4.2. Mapping of the national legal and policy framework on cyberbullying in the EU Member States 57 4.2.1. Legal framework 57 4.2.2. Policy framework 65 5. GOOD PRACTICES TO PREVENT AND TACKLE CYBERBULLYING AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE 73 5.1. Education/Awareness raising 74 5.2. Child protection 77 5.3. The involvement of children 79 5.4. The involvement of the Government 80 6. RECOMMENDATIONS 82 ANNEXES 90 ANNEX I: Country Reports 90 ANNEX II: Definitions and actions taken by MS and European authorities. 165 ANNEX III: Bibliography 174 ANNEX IV: Survey 184 ANNEX V: List of eu and national stakeholders consulted 191 5 Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs ____________________________________________________________________________________________ LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BIK Better Internet for Kids Strategy CJEU Court of Justice of the European Union COFACE Confederation of Family Organisations in the European Union DG Directorate Generals of the European Union EC European Commission ECHR European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms ECJ European Court of Justice ECtHR European Court of Human Rights EU European Union FRA European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights ICT Information and communication technologies INSAFE International Association of Internet Helplines INHOPE International Association of Internet Hotlines LIBE Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs NGO Non-Governmental Organization TEU Treaty on European Union TFUE Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union UN United Nations UNCRC United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund USA United States of America 6 Cyberbullying among young people ____________________________________________________________________________________________ LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1 The extent of bullying online in the EU. 27 TABLE 2 Elements defining bullying online and offline. 165 TABLE 3 Forms of cyberbullying. 165 TABLE 4 Official definitions of cyberbullying in 14 Member States. 166 TABLE 5 The main features of Member States’ definitions of cyberbullying. 168 TABLE 6 Measures adopted by the Council of Europe relevant to cyberbullying. 168 TABLE 7 Initiatives, programmes, and projects carried out by the EU with respect to cyberbullying. 170 TABLE 8 Public authorities in charge of collecting data on traditional bullying and cyberbullying in eight selected Member States and the frequency of data collection. 172 TABLE 9 Non-exhaustive list of criminal offences under which cyberbullying may be punished across Member States. 172 TABLE 10 Overview of participants 187 TABLE 11 List of stakeholders who provided support in circulating the survey among young people. 189 TABLE 12 Table 12: List of stakeholders at the EU level. 191 TABLE 13 List of stakeholders at the national level. 191 7 Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs ____________________________________________________________________________________________ EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This study was commissioned by the Policy Department on Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (the LIBE Committee) in order to assess the rapidly evolving phenomenon of cyberbullying among young people and the needs for public action in the area. The aim of this study is to illustrate the scale and nature of cyberbullying in the EU and provide an overview of the legal and policy measures adopted in this area at EU, international and national levels. The study focuses on young people under the age of eighteen. It is based on desk research, stakeholder consultation and a survey among young people. Although the research covered all 28 EU