08 February 2011
Beatbullying and CyberMentors have seen a substantial growth in requests for support from abroad. The websites have become the global online go-to place for bullied children and young people in the past three months, with significant increases in traffic notably from the US, South America and Australia.
The statistics have been released to coincide with Safer Internet Day, a day celebrated internationally to raise awareness around online safety issues, and note an increase of 996% in US traffic to the CyberMentors website from September to November 2010.
Brazil, Mexico and Argentina have also generated increased traffic, as has Australia, the traffic from which has increased 982% from September to November.
This increase in traffic from overseas has led to a change in policy for CyberMentors, which is now working closely with existing partner CEOP in order to provide best practice guidelines for child protection and online service provisions on a global scale – something which has never been done before.
Emma-Jane Cross, Chief Executive of Beatbullying commented:
“The increase in visits to both beatbullying.org and cybermentors.org.uk from new countries is all the more worrying because it indicates just how widespread bullying is.
“We have a policy of never turning away a young person in need of support or advice, despite the significant strain this puts on our resources, particularly as we only receive funding as a UK charity.
“However, we know that our peer mentoring site CyberMentors, which, since launching nearly two years ago, has helped nearly a million people, is unique in its approach and demonstrates best practice for child protection when it comes to counselling online.
“The fact that so much traffic is being generated from abroad perhaps indicates that a similar approach needs to be adopted in other territories."
Beatbullying launched the world’s first online demonstration, The Big March, in November, galvanizing nearly a million supporters to demand that Government do more to tackle bullying and resulting in a face-to-face deputation with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. Any young person experiencing bullying or who just needs someone to talk to is urged to visit www.cybermentors.org.uk.
For more information, a full breakdown of the statistics or interviews with a Beatbullying spokesperson please contact:
Frank PR – Mira Ryness or Lizzie Earl | beatbullying@frankpr.it | 0207 693 6999
Beatbullying - Sherry Adhami | sherry.adhami@beatbullying.org | 0781 400 4963
-ENDS-
NOTES TO EDITORS
Beatbullying is the UK's leading bullying prevention charity, creating a world where bullying, violence and harassment are unacceptable.
Beatbullying empowers people to understand, recognise, and say no to bullying, violence and harassment by giving them the tools to transform their lives and the lives of their peers. Working with families, schools, and communities to understand the problem, campaign for change and provide a sustainable efficient and proven solution.
CyberMentors is a safe, social networking site providing information and support for young people being bullied or cyber bullied. Young people, aged 11-25, are trained as CyberMentors, in schools and online, so that they can offer support to their peers. Encapsulated by cutting-edge technology, it is a safe website where young people can turn to other young people for help and advice. CyberMentors are also supported by trained counsellors, available online if needed. CyberMentors is a Beatbullying project.
Beatbullying has gained significant recognition for its anti-bullying work in schools and communities across the UK, working with more than 1.6 million children and young people since its launch in 1999. For more information go to beatbullying.org and cybermentors.org.uk