Gale McKoy Wilkins is the founder of SafeLiving LLC, a teen dating and violence prevention program for middle school, high school and college students, and the Family Education Initiative, a nonprofit organization. She has served as chairwoman for the SafeChild Abuse Advisory Board and has taught thousands of youths, including a Cumberland County class on bullying, cyberbullying and teen dating violence last year.

Bullying among children and teens has a long history. The Internet, however, now allows users to post anonymous remarks, harass endlessly, and leave comments and pictures online indefinitely. An addendum to the definition of bullying is now mobile bullying, cyberthreats and cyberbullying. Bullies today use technology such as texting, IM, blogs, MySpace, Facebook, YouTube and cell-phone cameras. Everything is instant without any thought or regard to those afflicted.

Last year, a student told me about the wrath of cyberbullying.

The incident involved his best friend and a group of bullies. The bullies planned to teach this young man a lesson on "disrespect," so they beat him after school at an off-campus location. An audience of peers watched and captured the entire altercation on a cell-phone camera. Before the victim could find his six missing teeth in the gravel and dirt, the fight appeared on Facebook, MySpace and YouTube, all before his parents, dentist and school administrators knew what had taken place. That is the instant wrath of cyberbullying.

According to the International Conference on School Bullying and Violence, the consequences of bullying are so severe that children ages 8 to 15 consider it "worse than racism, pressure to have sexual relations or drinking alcohol or taking drugs."

The National Crime Prevention Council reported in February 2007 that 43 percent of youths have experienced some form of cyberbullying in the last year. The incidence of cyberbullying is most prevalent among 15- and 16-year-olds, particularly among girls.

Yes, laws are needed to address conflicts that originate at school but may occur after school. All teachers and students should receive training on online safety. We also need more programs to educate parents about the dangers of cyberbullying.

North Carolina H.B. 1366, the School Violence Prevention Act, was sent back to committee last week and is not expected to pass this session. This bill would have required that public schools adopt policies that focus on bullying and harassment.

Students, teachers and administrators must have a better understanding about the extent of the law. Students would then know whether they have violated someone's human rights and whether what they have done is indeed a criminal act. Guidelines must be provided so laws can be enforced and online bullies punished.

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