Citation

Ong R. Int. J. Law Psychiatry 2017; 54: 1-15.

Affiliation

School of Law, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR. Electronic address: lwong@cityu.edu.hk.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.ijlp.2017.07.001

PMID

28962682

Abstract

Online bullying as a form of online aggression is an increasingly growing phenomenon that is experienced by all age groups. Apart from the use of technology, online bullying shares the same attributes as conventional bullying. This includes a power imbalance vis-a-vis the bully and the victim and the victims' feeling of helplessness. Its impact however, is greater resulting in severe psychological, social and mental health problems. Because online bullying presents a new type of challenge for lawmakers, educators and parents, there may not be a single solution to this social problem. The paper examines the existing laws in Hong Kong that may apply to online bullying, assessing its effectiveness as a means in redressing the power imbalance. It also looks at non-legal measures that can be adopted in Hong Kong to tackle the problem.

Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Language: en

Keywords

Criminalization; Legislation; Liability; Online bullying; Whole-school intervention programme