Respect Girls on Internet – Community Based Cyber Harassment Protection

Niranjan Meegammana
Global Member

Start date: November 2014

Harassment of teenage girls on social networks – including extreme cases of self-harm – is a growing problem in Sri Lanka due to an increase in their use among teenagers. In most cases young people are withdrawing from social life and digital society; the physical and/or psychological victimization affects their education and employment. Although national laws and procedures are in place for protection, there is a general lack of awareness, advice and resources available – in the local language – for victims to seek justice. The project will create digital content in the local language to raise awareness about the problem, advocate for safe and respectful online discourse, and train youth. One output will be a Cyber Privacy eHandbook for those new to the Internet, as well as for teachers and parents. A group of young people will learn how to create short films, digital posters, stories, and comics available online to encourage peer-to-peer awareness. This online network will expand to the real world with short film exhibitions and awareness raising exercises in schools.  All content created from the project will be distributed freely under Creative Commons 3.0 online allowing for wider sharing, replication and adaptation across the world.

Project Status: In progress