Cyberbullying is also something very common these days, especially among kids and teenagers, whom also spend a lot of time on the internet. It has called for some great debates, people simply want to know how they're kids are protected from such behavior. Many legislative attempts have been made to ensure this type of emotional/mental abuse would find legal punishment and numerous groups have been founded for victims to find support.
Protection hasn't only been created for minors though, adults are also legally protected from online harassment. Any kind of abuse is a CRIME and I am glad that bad treatment online is also being taken serious. It can be just as injuring and harmful to people as the face to face, original harassment.
To know I am protected is good. Very good to say the least, but I wanted to know if it is like this everywhere or only in specific countries. I wanted to know what would happen to perpetrators who think they can treat people however they want and get away with it. I wanted to know how much help and support the victims are receiving. During my research I stumbled across a website of the National Conference of State Legislatures, that provided a full list of US states and their laws on this topic. The full list can be reviewed by following the link I provided of the NCSL website. For my blog entry I have decided to use my home state as an example, which is the state of Michigan. Here are the laws of Michigan state that cover cyberstalking and cyberharassment:
State/Territory: Michigan
Cyberharassment: Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.411s
The law is linked to the Michigan Legislature Website and it's according page. To view the entire text, please follow the link provided above. Here some quotes from Mich. Comp. Laws §§750.411 that show how serious this topic truly is:
"(b) “Emotional distress” means significant mental suffering or distress that may, but does not necessarily, require medical or other professional treatment or counseling."
"(c) “Harassment” means conduct directed toward a victim that includes, but is not limited to, repeated or continuing unconsented contact that would cause a reasonable individual to suffer emotional distress and that actually causes the victim to suffer emotional distress. Harassment does not include constitutionally protected activity or conduct that serves a legitimate purpose."
"(e) “Unconsented contact” means any contact with another individual that is initiated or continued without that individual's consent or in disregard of that individual's expressed desire that the contact be avoided or discontinued. Unconsented contact includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:
(v) Contacting that individual by telephone.
(vi) Sending mail or electronic communications to that individual."
"(f) “Victim” means an individual who is the target of a willful course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment."
"(2) An individual who engages in stalking is guilty of a crime as follows:
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 1 year or a fine of not more than $1,000.00, or both."
After more research the laws all around the world seem to be catching up. Some faster, others a bit slower. I am hoping other countries will follow suit and start protecting their people from cyberterror as much as the laws I found within the USA, which in my opinion are leading when it comes to this specific subject at the moment.
With that being said, I very much encourage anyone reading this to take this matter very serious. Any harassment, any stalking, anything that makes another person feel emotional distress IS a form of abuse. It should not be tolerated by anyone and it is NOT tolerated by the law. Any sort of abuse, be it emotional, physical or mental abuse is a CRIME. For those who think it is ok to do this anyway, be warned and rethink your actions. If you are experiencing any sort of bad treatment, please take it serious, know that you are worth more, that you do not have to live like that and seek help if you are unable to get out of a situation on your own. NO ONE deserves to be harassed, stalked, nor anything else along those lines.
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