Cyberbullying: Suicide is never the solution
4 days
United against hate
Together with these partners and initiatives we fight against hate speech.
exclamo
exclamo wants to give schoolchildren and employees a voice and an opportunities to speak about their problems such as bullying, discrimination, or sexual harassment and to aid them in getting help. To achieve this, exclamo offers a web app that the schoolchildren of participating schools can use to anonymously contact representatives if they are attacked, bullied, or abused.
Vielrespektzentrum
The VielRespektZentrum center encourages respect and promotes diversity. The center is open to anybody who wishes to volunteer. Here, visitors can experience how the German Basic Law can be put into practice inside a single house. The VielRespektStiftung foundation also comprises the hotline for worried citizens and MeTwo activities, and is also where the Alimania late night show takes place.
#ichbinhier
The “ichbinhier e.V.” association aims to sensitize people to the issue of online hate and explains the causes of hate speech as well as the distribution and the effects of such speech. It supports people and institutions in all areas of society in being prepared for digital attacks and stands for more digital civil courage.
Gesicht Zeigen!
Gesicht Zeigen! encourages people to work actively against racism, antisemitism, homophobia and transphobia, Islamophobia, and right-wing extremism. Love Speech is an innovative, appreciative concept to offer young persons an alternative to hate when speaking and communicating with others. Online and offline.
Freunde fürs Leben
10,000 people die each year in Germany as a result of suicide. People who suffer from (cyber) bullying are three times more likely to take their own lives than those who have never experienced bullying. The Freunde fürs Leben e.V. association wants to change this through measures such as informing adolescents and young adults about mental health, depression, and suicide.
Scroller
The SCROLLER children’s media magazine is geared specifically to children aged nine to twelve to improve their media literacy. SCROLLER is available in both an interactive web version and a free print format. The current issue (04/2020) takes a look at digital civil courage and deals with questions on cyberbullying.
ZDK Gesellschaft Demokratische Kultur
ZDK Gesellschaft Demokratische Kultur is an organization that campaigns for the basic values of freedom and dignity. With campaigns such as #Hasshilft (#Hatehelps), it gives a clear signal about online hate, educates, and presents creative ways to make people aware that we need to make changes.
Prävention 2.0 e.V.
One of the aims of the Prävention 2.0 association is to enable children to discover the digital world with curiosity and learn how to look after themselves as well as others when online. Prevention and sensitization are the most important measures to protect against online violence. The Prävention 2.0 e.V. association makes this goal a reality through various projects and brings together the parties committed to media literacy throughout Germany.
Nummer gegen Kummer
The “Nummer gegen Kummer” association is the largest free telephone advice hotline for children, young people, and parents in Germany. Anyone encountering cyberbullying and needing help can also call the service and speak to understanding contact persons . Within the protective surroundings of a confidential phone or online consultation, the volunteer consultants support affected adolescents in mastering the challenges posed by their digital environments and help worried parents to proficiently support their children.
Reporterfabrik
The objective of fake news is to influence people’s opinions – something that often leads to hate and exclusion. The Reporterfabrik journalism school provides information and aims to promote media literacy. The web academy is open to everybody – the reporter4you scheme, aimed at children and young people, has been established and the reporters visit schools to speak about serious journalism.
Hate has many faces: Cyberbullying, hate speech and internet backlashIt's important to know that hate and aggression can take many forms in cyberspace. But what kind of content amounts to cyberbullying, hate speech or internet backlash?
Cyberbullying, so klicksafe.de (German only), is normally aimed at individual persons, and it is often carried out by perpetrators known to the victim in "real" (offline) life. In addition, cyberbullying often functions as an extension of real-life bullying. Typical cyberbullying tactics include posting of photos that show the victim in embarrassing situations and that, "ideally," will get widely shared. Usually, cases of cyberbullying continue for prolonged periods.
Internet backlash is a different story. It's a storm of outrage. As the Federal Agency for Civic Education (German only), a non-partisan political-information institute, reports, internet backlash consists of veritable avalanches of negative comments focused on a specific person, institution or company. In most cases,it is triggered by a specific statement, image, advertisement or announcement. As a result, internet backlash tends to last for only a short time. Furthermore, the comments it includes are not always threatening or insulting. For those targeted, their impact lies in its sheer volume, which can overwhelm any attempts to respond or take countermeasures.
In contrast to cyberbullying, hate speech is often aimed at entire groups, or at representatives of groups. The Amadeu Antonio Foundation (German only) describes hate speech as a series of hate-filled statements. Such statements often focus on characteristics such as skin color, origins/background, sexual orientation, age, gender, disabilities or religion. In some cases, such group-oriented inhumanity takes the form of racist messages spread by ultra-right or populist groups.
