tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062466.post2287881124835112615..comments2023-03-22T00:17:38.968+08:00Comments on ADTC: Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062466.post-5833986380019819992007-05-10T07:43:00.000+08:002007-05-10T07:43:00.000+08:00Cyber bullies strike and hide, but they can land i...<B>Cyber bullies strike and hide, but they can land in trouble</B><BR/><I>May 10, 2007</I><BR/><BR/>CYBER-BULLYING may soon become another area of grave concern.<BR/><BR/>Ms Masamah Ruah, a full-time counsellor at a convent secondary school, recalled the case of a 14-year old girl who was a victim of such bullying.<BR/><BR/>Besides being ostracised by her classmates, Rina (not her real name) had to deal with being the talk of cyberspace.<BR/><BR/>At the height of bullying, almost all her classmates' blogs criticised everything about her - her weight, looks and even race.<BR/><BR/>Desperate for acceptance, she resorted to changing her image by trying to lose weight. However, it only made her classmates post more nasty remarks online.<BR/><BR/>Ms Masamah said: 'I told her 'just stop reading them if it makes you upset', but she said she just could not. She had to know what they were passing around to each other.'<BR/><BR/>Ms Tan Bee Joo, head of Singapore Children's Society's Student Service Hub, said the Internet may soon become a significant dimension where students encounter harassment from peers.<BR/><BR/>'This might be an increasing trend as they become more tech-savvy, and it's definitely something to follow up on,' she said.<BR/><BR/>The Singapore Children's Society conducted a survey on bullying among secondary school students last year.<BR/><BR/>Although the survey did not include cyber-bullying, many students recounted their own brushes with cyber-bullies.<BR/><BR/>She defined cyber-bullying as bullying via the Internet or phone text messages. This includes flaming, which means insulting or criticising someone online.<BR/><BR/>Ms Tan added: 'Cyberbullying is even more intrusive than traditional bullying, because you cannot run away from the bullies who can strike 24/7, even when you're at home.'<BR/><BR/>A survey was conducted by a non-profit Coalition against Bullying for Children and Youth among 3,380 students from March to May last year.<BR/><BR/>It revealed that almost 40 per cent of those who said they were victims of cyber-bullying said they didn't know who their perpetrators are, The Straits Times reported.<BR/><BR/>About the same percentage said that being bullied online was as bad as being bullied in real life.<BR/><BR/>Take the case of 10-year-old Cynthia (not her real name).<BR/><BR/><B>CHANGED PASSWORD</B><BR/><BR/>She thought she could trust five of her friends with her blog password. But one of them changed the password a few days later - effectively locking her out of her own blog - and made lurid claims in her name that she had slept with many boyfriends.<BR/><BR/>Until today, she does not know who the culprit is. Now, she shuns the blogging world for fear of the incident repeating itself.<BR/><BR/>Mr Muzafar Muneer, a social worker at the Moral Family Service Centre, cautioned: 'Many students are not aware that they can be held legally responsible for defaming someone online.'<BR/><BR/>He added: 'They should always think twice before posting critical remarks about their friends, or they could get into serious trouble.'<BR/><BR/>[Text Quoted from http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,129925,00.html ]<BR/>[Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Co. Regn. No. 198402868E. All rights reserved.]ADTChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06989222865444336009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23062466.post-65122778023656405442007-05-10T07:40:00.000+08:002007-05-10T07:40:00.000+08:00World was waging war on mePart 2: Report is based ...<B>World was waging war on me</B><BR/><I>Part 2: Report is based on a book written by three NTU students as part of their 3rd-year project <BR/>By Michelle Lee, Sharon See and Mavis Toh <BR/>May 10, 2007</I><BR/><BR/>IT would seem that bullying is not restricted to able-bodied kids.<BR/><BR/>A British study done in 1994 showed that students with 'special needs' are two to three times more likely to be bullied in mainstream schools than in special schools.<BR/><BR/>Some disabled students here say they, too, have been victims.<BR/> <BR/>Nat Chan, whose account is found in the book, The Rage in Singapore Schools: Bullying, is one.<BR/><BR/><B>RECESS SPENT ALONE</B><BR/><BR/>Nat spends his recess eating alone.<BR/><BR/>'I feel that the whole world is waging war against me,' the 14-year-old said with a frown.<BR/><BR/>He may not be easy to get along with, but it's not for lack of trying.<BR/><BR/>As a child, he was diagnosed with dyspraxia, a condition that affects his speech, learning abilities and social skills.<BR/><BR/>When he communicates with his peers, he sometimes comes across as rude and brash, even though he does not mean to.<BR/><BR/>His classmates did not know of his illness, but their reaction to it was to bully him.<BR/><BR/><B>TARGET No 1</B><BR/><BR/>He soon became target number one in primary school and had to endure a slew of insults.<BR/><BR/>He said: 'They called me names, and even scolded my family using vulgarities.'<BR/><BR/>His father, Mr Chan Ngok Chuin, 47, who works in a shipping company, said: 'He has very poor social skills, and this is part of his handicap.'<BR/><BR/>Now a Secondary Three student, Nat says the bullying is worse than ever.<BR/><BR/><B>'It's always the same people - they're always doing nasty things like insulting me and provoking me to fight.'</B><BR/><BR/>When asked what names he was called, he lapsed into an uncomfortable silence.<BR/><BR/>'I don't feel I'm too sensitive, but I hate being insulted or humiliated,' he confessed.<BR/><BR/>His mother, Mrs Lily Chan, 45, has gone to her son's rescue when she thinks the bullying is getting out of hand.<BR/><BR/>'I confronted the bully and told him, 'If you bully him, I'll give you trouble',' she said.<BR/><BR/>As for Mr Chan, he manages an e-mail support group where parents of dyspraxic children come together to share their thoughts and experiences.<BR/><BR/><B>EMOTIONAL SUPPORT</B><BR/><BR/>He said: 'Whether you like it or not, there'll still be bullies. If we can provide the emotional support, he'll be able to pull through life.'<BR/><BR/>Some researchers, like those in the UK study, believe that students with disabilities are more at risk of being bullied in a normal setting.<BR/><BR/>Senior consultant psychiatrist Daniel Fung, who is an expert in child psychiatry at the Institute of Mental Health, agrees.<BR/><BR/>He said: 'Students with disabilities are the ones who're odd, out-of-place and more vulnerable, and bullies often look for the vulnerable and weak.'<BR/><BR/>Joshua (not his real name) is mildly autistic and dyslexic and finds it difficult to make friends. The mild-mannered 11-year-old is usually shy and rarely looks others in the eye.<BR/><BR/>His more observant classmates, sensing that he had a slightly different demeanour, asked their teacher about him. Their teacher merely replied that Joshua was 'special'.<BR/><BR/>When he was in Primary 3, his classmate Peter (not his real name) would tell their classmates not to lend Joshua any stationery - be it a pencil or stapler - whenever he asked.<BR/><BR/>'I got angry that nobody wanted to share things with me,' Joshua said, adding that he usually controls the urge to scream when he gets angry.<BR/><BR/>Joshua did not confide in his parents or teachers as he did not want to trouble them with 'just a small matter'.<BR/><BR/>With nobody paying any attention to the problem, the bullying escalated to a point where Peter punched Joshua in the eye. Peter's reason: Joshua had told the teacher about him destroying a project display in class.<BR/><BR/>Recalls Joshua: 'It was very painful and swollen.'<BR/><BR/>Joshua's mother lodged a complaint with the school, and disciplinary action was taken against Peter. The bullying finally stopped after that.<BR/><BR/>While there are no known reported figures on the number of disabled children being bullied here, the figures are likely to be low.<BR/><BR/>Many disabled children are beginning to integrate successfully in normal schools through a five-year Government masterplan for the disabled.<BR/><BR/>According to a report in The Straits Times on 6 Sep last year, several voluntary welfare organisations and disability experts said they backed the idea of 'integrated' education programmes.<BR/><BR/>As of 2004, about 750 blind, deaf and physically disabled children were attending mainstream schools.<BR/><BR/>[Text Quoted from http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,129918,00.html ]<BR/>[Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Co. Regn. No. 198402868E. All rights reserved.]ADTChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06989222865444336009noreply@blogger.com