‘Harassment law update should take online bullying into account’

Cyberbullying and posting fake or misleading details on social media need to be examined with a view to updating harassment law, the Law Reform Commission has said.

The latest report of the Law Reform Commission was launched in Cork by the president of the District Court, Judge Rosemary Horgan, the first time a commission report was launched outside Dublin since its inception in 1975.

“The report notes that some emerging types of unacceptable behaviour, such as the use of social media to post fake or misleading information, may not come within the current law on harassment.

“The commission concludes that this and other forms of cyberbullying should be examined as part of the project on that topic in its new Fourth Programme of Law Reform,” the new report stated.

Launching the latest Law Reform Commission report, Aspects of Domestic Violence, Judge Horgan recalled her first year working in a law centre: “I realised that domestic violence is one of the most pervasive violations of human rights in the world, one of the least prosecuted crimes, and one of the greatest threats to family stability and mental health.”

The judge said that from 2011 to 2012, applications to the District Court under the domestic violence legislation increased by 19%. She said there was a 34% rise in applications for safety orders and a 23% rise in applications for protection orders in the same period.

“Legal remedies alone may not always be the first or only solution,” she said.

“The challenge for services, including courts, is to ensure that we are part of the solution and not part of the problem facing the victim of domestic violence and abuse.”