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Last Words
Over-exposed schoolgirl victim of high-tech bullying
by Mainichi Shimbun
07/01/2003
OSAKA -- Mobile phones with camera functions have emerged as a new tool for bullying among high school students, an incident that recently occurred in Osaka Prefecture suggests.
Photos of a girl at an Osaka Prefecture high school taken with a camera on a portable phone has been transmitted via e-mail to a massive number of people with a message identifying her by name and slandering her, officials at the victim's school said.
As a result, the victim was identified and spoken to by strangers who apparently saw the e-mail. Even though the girl did not suffer physical or financial damage, the finding suggests that mobile phones with camera functions are being abused by young people as new tools of bullying and could trigger crimes.
Commentator Keiko Higuchi underscored the need to teach students the importance of respecting personal rights of individuals. "It's a kind of bullying through a new medium. I think the latest finding is just the tip of the iceberg. Teachers and parents should teach children the importance of respecting individuals' portrait rights and privacy."
In September 2002, the parents of a student at another high school alerted the high school in Osaka Prefecture to the incident, prompting teachers at the school to question the victim.
In response, she admitted that she was terrified after being spoken to by strangers on railway station platforms and in towns. She reportedly told the teachers that she was surprised at the fact that these people who spoke to her knew her name. Since the e-mail had a message urging those who received it to forward it to multiple people, it apparently spread exponentially, school officials said.
The school was not able to identify the person who originally transmitted the e-mail, and is at a loss over how to prevent a recurrence.
More than 86 percent of Osaka prefectural high school students possess mobile phones, according to a survey conducted by the association of Osaka prefectural high school principals.
A mobile phone company said over 50 percent of their mobile phones being sold now are equipped with camera functions, and the ratio is rapidly increasing.
Read the full article at Mainichi Shimbun
Links:
Bullies in the United Kingdom
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