DEARBORN — The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee Michigan launched a cyber bullying monitor program June 23 to support victims of online harassment.
ADC officials said the Cyber Civil Rights Monitor
was created in response to a recent uptick in suicides resulting from cyber bullying.
The program supports victims of online harassment by positioning cyber assault as an offense on civil rights.
The program aims to provide guidance, education, and advocacy for all victims of cyber bullying, regardless of age, ethnicity or religion, ADC officials said.
“The violations in posting of inappropriate pictures of women and minorities without their consent should not be tolerated,” ADC-Michigan Director Fatina Abdrabboh
said. “There should be severe legal consequences to keep cyber hate crimes from growing at the current
alarming level. We are working to change that.
“The Cyber Civil Rights Monitor is a new dimension in our overarching goal of combatting all forms of hate, online and in our daily lives. The Internet has too often been used as a vehicle for anonymous individuals and groups to engage in bigoted attacks that denigrate
individuals based on their gender, lifestyle, ethnicity, or beliefs.”
The goals of the CyberCivil Rights Monitor are:
• Address cyber bullying as an attack on an individual’s civil rights.
• Lobby for legislation criminalizing cyber bullying, revenge porn, and other cyber sexual assaults.
• Raise national awareness of cyber civil rights.
• Promote cyber civil rights advocacy campaigns
in schools and universities.
• Create an ADC cyber monitor to identify perpetrators and advocate for criminal prosecution.
• Create an ADC Michigan Cyber Civil Rights Task Force with broad based groups to empower victims of cyber sexual assaults and cyber bullying.
• Provide a venue for victims of cyber bullying to receive legal guidance and support.
• Promote an environment of tolerance online.
ADC-Michigan officials said anyone who has been, or knows of, a victim of cyber bullying can call 313-581-1201 or email [email protected].