Bragg Communications Inc. In , A. If we value the right of children to protect themselves from bullying, cyber or otherwise, if common sense and the evidence persuade us that young victims of sexualized bullying are particularly vulnerable to the harms of revictimization upon publication, and if we accept that the right to protection will disappear for most children without the further protection of anonymity, we are compellingly drawn in this case to allowing A.
Bragg was released, year-old Amanda Todd committed suicide in British Columbia. Prior to her death, Amanda posted a video on YouTube to tell her story of taking a nude image of herself via a webcam, and the subsequent blackmail, stalking, and harassment that followed by tormentors in cyberspace and in the schoolyard. In November , Rehtaeh was allegedly sexually assaulted by four perpetrators while attending a house party. A cellphone photo of the sexual assault was shared repeatedly by students at her school and across social media sites.
It just never stopped. This framing influences the way we collectively perceive the problem and how we collectively respond. Although education law cannot provide exact solutions to the many challenges in addressing cyberbullying, it can provide a useful framework within which students, teachers, administrators, policymakers, and society can begin to find ways to meet the challenges.
An equality lens insists on equal treatment and equal opportunity for all, regardless of gender and other intersecting forms of oppression. An equality lens also acknowledges that the impacts of sexualized cyberbullying and sexualized violence affect girls and women differently than they do boys and men.
That is, if we truly want to understand the impacts of sexualized cyberbullying, we must question exactly who is likely to be victimized and how. We must also consider the systemic inequalities that disproportionately expose Canadian women and girls to sexualized violence. An equality lens will locate sexualized cyberbullying within these systemic inequalities, and will guide my consideration of the appropriate education law response.
