Batley children are hit by web bullies
Mock up picture to illustrate cyber bullying
NUDE photos and graphic sexual comments about Batley teenagers have been posted on web pages claiming to air ‘dirty secrets’.
Several Facebook pages have sprung up over the last fortnight on which people have openly posted abusive and offensive comments about their peers.
The pages have already gathered hundreds of followers, many of whom are pupils at local schools.
They come just weeks after a 15-year-old Canadian girl took her own life after becoming the victim of cyberbullies.
One man, who did not want to be named for fear of being targeted, said his girlfriend’s daughter had been bullied in the same way.
He said offensive messages had also been posted on the new sites about a friend’s daughter.
“We looked on the page and it was getting progressively worse,” he said.
“The feedback from some individuals on there is ‘it’s only a laugh’, but it’s not.
“Some of the comments were quite cruel and others were down-right disgusting.”
He said he reported the pages to Facebook, but was told the company had not been able to confirm whether the pages broke its rules.
“Facebook is a great arena if used properly, but it’s concerning me that there’s an awful lot of kids using it for completely the wrong reasons,” he said.
“If kids think they can get away with that, where does it end?”
The abusive comments on the Facebook pages are being investigated.
Kirklees Council is to demand the pages be closed down and is asking schools to raise the issue of online bullying with pupils.
Meanwhile, police advise anyone concerned by the pages to get in touch, and report to offensive comments to Facebook directly.
A spokeswoman said: “Cyberbullying is something we take seriously, but is not always a police matter. We will however take action against offenders if they are proven to have been committing an offence.”
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Weather for Batley
Friday 24 May 2013
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