New Guidelines To Tackle Cyber-Stalking
8:11am UK, Thursday September 23, 2010
New guidelines on dealing with stalking will be published by the Crown Prosecution Service later, aimed at people who use the internet to target others.
Experts say a code of conduct about how to behave online is badly needed
More than a million women and 900,000 men are stalked every year, but that does not include any so called cyber-stalking or on-line harassment.
Police say cyber-stalking is unwanted communication that causes fear, alarm or distress and can be sent by email, social networking sites or text messages.
A leading psychologist says many people harass by accident because they don't know how to behave on-line, so more guidelines and a code of conduct need to be introduced.
Dr Emma Short from the University of Bedfordshire told Sky News: "It's not just about legislation to protect others, it's about becoming personally aware about our security online.
"We are very careful about how we behave off-line, we keep safe and we avoid the dangerous parts of town.
"But online people are much less certain of who is watching them, who can see what they are putting our there and how vulnerable that might make them."
Alongside the CPS's new legal guidance, a new research project is being launched to discover the full extent of the cyber-stalking problem.
But those involved with the project say it is also up to individuals to ensure they are adequately protected online.
Source; news.sky.com
Login
Register
FAQ
