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September 8, 2023

What should you do if you think your child is being bullied at school?

  • The Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) has spoke about how parents should respond if they notice any signs that bullies may be targeting their child.
  • Martha Evans, director of the ABA has that research suggests that being bullied can have serious implications for a child’s life chances, with the implications often carrying through to adulthood.
  • Anti-bullying training and programmes for schools are vital in helping tackle the problem.
  • Some warning signs include a child coming home with torn clothes or missing belongings, them unexpectedly not wanting to go to school, or complaining about unexplained illnesses or becoming quiet and withdrawn.
  • Evans advises parents to stay calm, get the facts, reassure their child not to retaliate and that it is not their fault and follow appropriate escalation procedures to mitigate the problem.
  • For more, please visit the Independent’s website.

Online Safety Bill to prevent animal cruelty content and the government addresses encryption

  • In a change to the Online Safety Bill, tech companies will have to proactively prevent material that facilitates animal torture from being posted on their platforms.
  • Failure to do so could result in a fine of £18m, or up to 10% of a company’s global revenue.
  • The change means that animal cruelty becomes a “priority offence” under the bill, alongside child sexual abuse images and terrorist content.
  • On Wednesday the government sought to head off a threatened exodus from the UK by encrypted messaging apps, saying that a controversial clause in the bill paving the way for message scanning will only be used if the process was “technically feasible” and if it met minimum standards of privacy and accuracy.
  • For more, please visit the Guardian’s website.

 

Warning over TikTok ‘acne-curing’ and ‘youthful’ skincare hack that can have bad side effects 

  • The use of chlorophyll water is the latest skincare trend on TikTok, which claims to cure acne, eliminate body odour, improve energy levels, clean blood and aid in weight loss.
  • Chlorophyll is the natural compound present in green plants, and is in vegetables such as broccoli, spinach and kale.
  • Wellness expert Ryan Davidson reported that whilst it is rich in vitamins A, C and E, there are still known side effects of the water.
  • He stated that the regular consumption of chlorophyll water can also increase your body’s sensitivity to the sun making you more susceptible to sunburn.
  • Mr Davidson warned against chlorophyll water by saying it should not be consumed alongside certain medications.
  • He also added, there are additional risks to the drink if you suffer from psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis or are pregnant.
  • He reported that drinking the water will not replace a healthy diet.
  • Instead, Mr Davidson recommended eating food such as Kale, Spinach, Parsley, Broccoli and Asparagus.
  • Finally, he stated that the long-term safety of the supplement is unknown.
  • For more, please visit the Wales Online website.

Sextortion on Snapchat is not the end of my world, says victim

  • A 25-year-old man became a victim of sextortion, a form of blackmail where people are persuaded to send intimate images to people online, which they then threaten to share with others.
  • He had been on holiday with friends when he was added on Snapchat by a woman he didn’t know.
  • He stated: “You would have thought you were messaging a real person and not a fake account, there were no red flags”.
  • After 2 weeks, he received nude pictures, to which he responded with nude images of himself.
  • Shortly after sending the image, he received a reply with a screenshot, as well as pictures of his face from previous days and a list of his Instagram followers.
  • The girl threatened to send the images to all of the victim’s followers if he did not send £3,000, and promised to delete the images if he sent the money.
  • He took immediate action, by making his Instagram account private, reporting the pictures and warning his followers not to open them.
  • He has praised Instagram for removing the pictures so promptly, and believes this reduced the exposure.
  • His advice to others is to stay calm and not do “anything drastic”.
  • The PSNI has advised that people do not respond to these demands.
  • Last year, the PSNI received approximately 600 reports of sextortion and are seeing an increase of these reports.
  • Detective Chief Inspector David McBurney stated that “Behind the fake and attractive guise there’s a criminal. These people are often part of sophisticated and organised crime groups, mostly based overseas”.
  • He has urged social media users not to get lured into compromising situations: “Trust your gut and end uncomfortable situations immediately”.
  • Check out our guide: ‘Protecting Young People from Sextortion’.
  • For more, please visit the BBC News website.

Check out our Online Safety Training for Schools! Head on over to our Safer Schools NI website for more information and to get signed up!