molestie

Nearly one in six adolescents have experienced cyberbullying, an international study has found.

More school-aged children have reported being cyberbullied than before the pandemic, according to the report by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The study surveyed more than 279,000 young people from 44 countries and regions.

In Wales, where nearly 37,000 young people were surveyed, 17% reported experiencing cyberbullying.

The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey suggests the proportion of adolescents who reported being cyberbullied has increased since 2018, from 12% to 15% for boys and 13% to 16% for girls.

In England, where more than 4,200 young people were surveyed, nearly one in five (19%) reported being cyberbullied at least once or twice in the past couple of months, and 11% reported cyberbullying others.

In Scotland, where more than 4,300 young people were surveyed, 18% said they had experienced cyberbullying and 11% reported cyberbullying others.

The report said there was an “urgent need” to educate young people, families and schools of the forms of cyberbullying and its implications.

Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said: “As young people’s social engagement switched to the online environment during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, so it appears that perpetration and experience of cyberbullying increased.

“Focusing on virtual types of peer violence is now an urgent priority to safeguard the health and wellbeing of populations of adolescents and young people, and cyberbullying must be viewed as a major issue for societies.

“With young people spending up to six hours online every single day, even small changes in the rates of bullying and violence can have profound implications for the health and wellbeing of thousands.

“This is both a health and a human rights issue, and we must step up to protect our children from violence and harm, both offline and online.”

‘A real concern’

Sarah Hannafin, senior policy adviser for school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “These figures showing an increase in cyberbullying among children are a real concern, and while schools work hard to help keep pupils safe, online bullying can take place anywhere, at any time.

“Schools alone cannot tackle the issue and the government must ensure the Online Safety Act is implemented swiftly and properly enforced, while social media platforms must do much more to provide a safe online environment.”

A UK government spokesperson said: “The Online Safety Act will make the UK the safest place in the world for children to be online, requiring companies to take robust action to protect children from harmful content, illegal activity, and abuse – including keeping children safe from bullying.

“Companies that do not comply with the new can face fines of up to 10% of their global annual revenue, potentially up to billions of pounds.”

Nigeria’s outgoing parliament has finally passed a bill that aims to prevent the sexual harassment of university students.

Once it is signed into law by newly elected President Bola Tinubu it will be illegal for lecturers to make any sexual advances towards students.

Those who do have sexual relationships with their students could face up to 14 years in jail.

The anti-sexual harassment bill was originally introduced in 2016 but did not pass both houses of parliament.

It was reintroduced by the senate in 2019 following a BBC investigation that uncovered alleged sexual misconduct by lecturers in Nigeria and Ghana.

BBC Africa Eye’s Sex for Grades documentary prompted outrage, but the bill was further delayed as the house of representatives wanted some changes – and two parliamentary committees had to come to an agreement on the final wording.

Outgoing lawmakers are trying to wrap up business before newly elected MPs are sworn in next week.

A student told BBC news she was happy about the development and hoped President Tinubu would pass it into law soon.

Earlier in the month, a group of students had issued a statement to express their displeasure that the National Assembly had failed to pass it in time for his predecessor – President Muhammadu Buhari – to assent to it before leaving office.

Quattro docenti universitari in Marocco sono comparsi in tribunale accusati di offrire voti migliori alle studentesse in cambio di sesso. Sono accusati di incitamento alla dissolutezza, discriminazione di genere e violenza contro le donne. Un quinto docente è comparso in tribunale mercoledì con l’accusa di aggressione e brutali percosse.

Lo scandalo riguarda la Hassan First University nella città di Settat, ma è solo l’ultimo di una serie di denunce di molestie sessuali nelle università marocchine negli ultimi anni. La maggior parte degli accusati non è andata a processo.

Per combattere mobbing e molestie sessuali sul luogo di lavoro, gli eurodeputati della commissione diritti delle donne e uguaglianza di genere propongono nuove misure per aiutare le vittime a denunciare i casi e per assicurare sanzioni contro i responsabili. Gli eurodeputati deplorano il fatto che leggi e definizioni dei reati varino di molto da Stato a Stato in Europa, e chiedono alla Commissione Ue di proporre una direttiva contro tutte le forme di violenza sulle donne, che comprenda anche una definizione comune e aggiornata dei reati e standard legali per trattare tali crimini.

“Le vittime non devono aver paura di denunciare i casi di violenza sul luogo di lavoro”, sottolineano gli eurodeputati che chiedono agli Stati Ue di incoraggiare politiche sui posti di lavoro basate sulla prevenzione, procedure confidenziali per gestire le denunce, e dure sanzioni dissuasive per i responsabili. “Il movimento #MeToo ha mostrato al mondo quanto grande e diffuso fosse il fenomeno di mobbing e molestie sessuali, anche nei luoghi pubblici e di lavoro”, ha detto Pina Picierno (S&D), relatrice della proposta, spiegando come bisogna partire da una “chiara definizione legale di molestia, concentrandosi sulle strategie per l’istruzione e affrontando il drammatico fenomeno delle molestie online».