26 July 2016
The Coalition’s pledge to protect Australian children from cyber-bullying, online harassment and predatory behaviour has reached an important milestone with the release of a 12-month report card by the Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner.
The report card found that in its first 12 months of operation the Office has:
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Educated more than 59,000 students across Australia through Virtual Classrooms-video presentations delivered online by the Office’s eSafety trainers.
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Delivered face-to-face presentations to more than 71,000 Australians.
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Received 186 serious cyberbullying complaints, most commonly relating to girls (71%) and predominantly involving harmful comments, name-calling and the posting of offensive or upsetting images/videos.
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Conducted more than 7,400 investigations into online child sexual abuse content.
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Received over 2.9 million page views on its website.
The Office was established on 1 July 2015 following a commitment by the Coalition Government to address an issue of major concern for Australian children, parents and schools. Research conducted by the Commonwealth Government found that over a 12-month period, as many as one in five Australian children aged eight to seventeen have experienced cyberbullying.
Following its establishment the Office established an online cyber-bullying complaints system, which has seen the Commissioner work with large social media services to remove harmful cyber-bullying material targeted at Australian children.
The Office has also worked closely with students, parents and teachers to teach children how to act responsibly online and to encourage safe, positive online experiences. The Office has developed a wide range of resources to assist educators and parents, and developed advice and education materials on how to best respond to cyber-bullying.
Resources for parents and educators, as well as an online system to report cyber-bullying, illegal or offensive material, are available at www.esafety.gov.au