Cyber Bullies

Katherine Jenkins is the latest example of the cyberbully phenomenon. The assumptions being made that this is exclusive to women –  that it is driven by misogyny. Bullying, however, is as old as mankind and I can assure you, it is not confined to women. Anyone who dares to voice an opinion on the web will, sooner or later, find themselves on the receiving end of vitriolic comment.

Katherine Jenkins lashed out, which is fine. She as also blocked this person from her online sites. This is precisely the way to deal with such people. On this occasion, the stalker got through to a radio programme. Again, though, this can be handled. The best –  and simplest –  way of dealing with these people is not to feed their egos. Block, delete and ban. Don’t engage with them. Jenkins probably didn’t help much by giving this person the publicity in the way that she did. Likely has not he is delighted to have provoked a response such as this. It’s what drives these people.

Yesterday, Lynne Featherstone, the Liberal Democrat Home Office minister, unveiled proposals to introduce a specific offence of stalking, potentially also covering cyberstalking. A three-month consultation will also look at the use of restraining orders and police attitudes to stalking cases. It is a complicated issue; but it is timely. For it has been a depressing week to be female and have any kind of online presence.

Stalking has always been a problem for those on the receiving end. As the stalker is often as not, not actually doing anything illegal –  and as noted, stalking itself isn’t illegal –  it is difficult to deal with. There was a case televised recently about a couple who were stalked. The stalker finally crossed the line when she stole semen from a condom and used it to claim sexual assault. It was this criminal act that finally put an end to the misery. Until that point, dealing with it was problematic and traumatic for the victims.

So, I have qualms. If the stalking is confined to online trolling, I see no reason for more legislation as it is fairly easy to deal with. When it involves the kind of harassment that Dr Jan Falkowski and Debbie Pemberton suffered, there appears to be a gap in the law. Bridging it may be the appropriate thing to do. Maybe, maybe…

Louise Mensch who has been on the receiving end of such bullying and gave a pretty robust response, has this to say:

Mensch says that such abusive comments are now part of her working life, as they are for many female MPs. “If I spent all my time responding to every sexist comment which referred to rape and violence, I would lose my whole day, so I take a ‘don’t feed the trolls attitude’. You have to distinguish between a genuine cyberstalker and common or garden abuse.”

And that, I think nails the issue. There is a difference between the kind of abusive comment received online and stalking –  legislation is likely to be a blunt instrument, which is why I have those qualms.

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Update: Since posting this, I received some abusive comment on this post. No, you haven’t seen it, nor the snarky follow-up comment. This is because I practice what I preach regarding trolls and abusive comments. I delete the comment and ban the abuser. These people only get to you if you let them.