BY NUALA MCALOON

A Fermanagh parent whose child was the victim of cyber bullying has spoken out about the detrimental effects that social networking sites such as Bebo can have on young children.

The parent, who wished to remain anonymous, said that for the most part of last year, her child went through a private turmoil at the hands of others who had created a nasty Bebo page specifically about them.

"The introductory episode of the Bebo bullying happened in April, but it wasn't until October that I got the huge shock and learned of what was happening.

"My child, who is not even on Bebo and didn't know how to access it, initially was being photographed on a mobile against their wishes. The pictures were put up on a Bebo page created about my child where things were said, using bullying tactics. There were comments about their personality and language used that only the youth could decipher. The terminology consisted of sarcastic remarks, and anything they had done well at, had been made a joke of."

The child was first made aware of the issue when a joke at their expense was made while they were sitting in class.

"I knew they weren't their usual self from about March or April, but I didn't know what it was. It affected their concentration to work and, when they were grumpy over the summer period, I was just putting it down to adolescence when really this had been on their mind all along."

The parent said while they had never really heard much about Bebo, they were aware of the dangers, but never once thought that a family member could be bullied on it.

The issue finally came to a head in October last year when a cousin who had access to Bebo confronted the matter.

"My sister rang me to tell me that the two children had been talking about it, but I wasn't allowed to be told. The cousin felt it was an area of concern and had raised it and my sister gave me a rundown of what type of things were on the site.

"I got somebody to check out it for me before I lifted my child at school and asked them had they anything they wanted to discuss. Eventually, I discovered that it had been going on for six or seven months and that they were trying to deal with it by ignoring it."

Six people, the parent said, were involved in setting the page up. With the help of Police, their identities were unmasked. However, due to the distress caused to the individual, a legal avenue wasn't pushed and the culprits were never formally punished.

Schools at which the pupils were attending had no authority to combat the issue as Bebo is an outside network.

"The page would also have had to stay on the Internet in order for a legal case to be taken," the parent added.

The impact on the child was immense: "My child was affected psychologically. They were upset, totally distressed. Their concentration was affected as was their confidence. Only now are they starting to come round. We are very supportive as a family, but I would have my concerns for the child who doesn't have that support."

The parent urged young people to be more careful when using Bebo and urged the education authorities to take a more responsible role in offering guidance to parents and pupils alike. They called for more legal advice from police, and said Bebo had to be challenged and asked how such bullying could be allowed.

The matter of cyber bullying was raised at last week's meeting of the Fermanagh District Policing Partnership at which one question asked if there was there any protection with regard to the privacy of an individual in relation to the Internet and, particularly a minor.

Chief Inspector Alywin Barton, responding, said the issue was difficult to police.

"There is a facility", he stated, "which we have used, which allows the service provider to be approached whereupon they will withdraw the relevant page and information causing concern. They can and will then assist by attempting to provide police with the identity of the offender placing the offending data on the Internet by tracing their electronic fingerprint."

With reference to the Data Protection Act, Mr Barton said it did not cover the issue as it was data placed on the Internet about others, which was primarily information known, privately, by the person placing the entry.

"It is not information taken from any record maintained on anyone. I hasten to add that, in a lot of instances there is concern that the information publicised is not true. I will say police have not been receiving a lot of complaints about this issue."

Chief Inspector Barton added that police had support from their Telecommunications Liaison Unit who, he explained, 'struggled with limited resources and a heavy workload' to provide police with a link to the various service providers.

However, he reported that they had some success in their efforts to help trace offenders.