Antigonish RCMP officers are visiting local schools, talking to students about safe social media usage and cyber bullying. Students are learning how they can protect themselves and help stop the bullying of others.

‘We want children to feel safe and avoid being bullied, particularly when it comes to cyber bullying. We encourage them to practice responsible social media usage,’ says Cst. Catherine Bézaire with the Antigonish RCMP. ‘We want them to think carefully about what they share online, especially intimate pictures or e-mails, because once something is on the internet you can’t take it back.’

Officers remind students that when online they should keep personal information private, such as never sharing information like birth date, address, phone number or current location. Participants also learn about the importance of ‘blocking’ users who bully, deleting embarrassing photos or videos, and most importantly to talk to someone if cyber bullying is taking place.

These school sessions are one of the projects that Antigonish RCMP, Straight Regional School Board and Saint Francis Xavier University are working on in their efforts to support children who face bullying and peer victimization in the schools.

This month, Nova Scotia established a special investigative unit whose only job is to look into cyber bullying complaints. It’s called CyberSCAN. Anyone can file a cyber bullying complaint by calling 1-855-702-8324. For more information visit the website www.cyberscan.novascotia.ca or www.antibullying.novascotia.ca

Source: Release