Children ‘must face up to’ text message bullies

CHILDREN must face up to bullies who send offensive texts on mobile phones, a child protection expert urged yesterday.

One-in-three schoolchildren falls victim to bullying and the mobile is among the weapons bullies now use.

Gearóid Ó Maoilmhicil, child protection coordinator with the National Youth Council of Ireland, said: “We now have e-bullying, cyber bullying, internet bullying and text bullying. And as people who work with young people, we have had to up-skill ourselves to deal with these types of bullying. And we would say to people if you receive a threatening text you retain it — don’t delete it — and you inform somebody that this is what’s happening to you.”

Youth Affairs Minister Seán Haughey yesterday launched a resource document, Let’s Beat Bullying, aimed at tackling the problem as it affects young people.