Cyber-bullying: A Digital Danger

Cyber-bullying, as we all know, is undoubtedly an epidemic in this country. For the few who are unaware, cyber-bullying is exactly how it sounds. What we once knew as the school yard teasing and hallway domineering has computerized and transformed to the ugly monster we now recognize it to be. According to the i-SAFE Foundation, more than one in three young people have experienced cyber-bullying online. This can come in many forms, such as spreading rumors online or through texts, posting harmful or threatening messages on social media sites, and circulating sexually suggestive pictures or messages about another person. The effects of cyber-bullying can be severe. As suicide rates increase as the years go on, cyber-bullying can partially be to blame. Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims, according to studies by Yale University. The unfortunate story of Amanda Todd proves that online harassment can lead to the demise of a single person.

Amanda Todd was only 15 years old when she took her life at her Port Coquitlam home in October of 2012. Her ordeal begins in 2009. While in the seventh grade, she used a video chat service to meet people over the internet after moving in with her father. A stranger whom she frequently talked with convinced Amanda to expose her breasts on camera. The man captured a photo of the incident and then threatened to show it to her friends unless she “gave him a show”. After being informed by police that a photo of her was being circulated around the internet, her and her family moved to a new home, but it didn’t help much. She began using drugs and alcohol and soon attempted suicide by drinking bleach. She survived, however, after being rushed to the hospital and having her stomach pumped. The bullying continued when Todd discovered more abusive messages about her posted to Facebook. In March 2012, Amanda and her family again moved away, but it was to no avail. According to her mother, "Every time she moved schools he would go undercover and become a Facebook friend. What the guy did was he went online to the kids who went to the new school and said that he was going to be a new student — that he was starting school the following week and that he wanted some friends and could they friend him on Facebook. He eventually gathered people's names and sent Todd's video to her new school". It was after this that Amanda began self mutilating and was hospitalized for overdosing on her antidepressants. On October 10, 2012, after further taunts and threats both online and in person, Amanda Todd, then in the tenth grade, was found hanging at her home.

A year and a half after the incident, a 35-year-old man of dual Dutch and Turkish citizenship by the name of “Aydin C.” was arrested and had been charged with extortion, internet luring, criminal harassment and possession and distribution of child pornography for his alleged offenses against Todd and other child victims, both male and female. CBS News said that Aydin Coban had written an open letter proclaiming his innocence. Coban's case went to trial in February 2017, and concluded the following month. He faced 72 charges of sexual assault and extortion in the Netherlands involving 39 alleged victims in various countries and was eventually convicted and sentenced on the Dutch charges of internet fraud and blackmail. He faces five separate Canadian charges related to Todd, and it was anticipated that he would be extradited to Canada no sooner than the middle of 2018 whilst serving his Dutch sentence of 10 years.

Vancouver Sun: Hundreds attend a vigil for Amanda Todd at LaFarge Lake Town Centre Park in Coquitlam, October 19 2012.

Vigils were held across Canada and internationally to remember Todd and other victims of bullying. A minute of silence was observed by a quarter of a million students in the Toronto District School Board district. At the 2012 We Day event in Vancouver, bullying had been scheduled as a topic before Todd's death and was addressed by speakers Magic Johnson, musician and anti-bullying advocate Demi Lovato and British Columbia Premier Christy Clark. The Red Robinson Show Theatre held 600 people for a final farewell ceremony for Todd on November 18, 2012. Carol Todd told the gathering that her daughter had left behind "a larger-than-life message that has sparked the world and has made it open its eyes, its ears and its hearts".

ABC News reported that a week after Todd's death, fraudulent websites had been set up claiming to solicit donations. As a result, the Todd family created the Amanda Todd Trust Account. It has since been incorporated as a nonprofit known as the Amanda Todd Legacy, with a particular outreach on the mental health issues of adolescents.

If you or someone you know are having suicidal thoughts, please call 1-800-273-8255.