Online safety covers a number of issues, primarily behavioural and educational, relating to the use of communications technologies.

These issues range from from those relating to abusive behaviour through to initiatives designed to build the capacity of individuals to embrace the concept of digital citizenship, to promote inclusion and to maintain well-being.

The impact of technology-facilitated abuse is an emerging issue which particularly affects women and minority groups, and includes behaviours as diverse as digital stalking and online trolling to child exploitation.

Cyber-bullying is also a major issue for children, but also affects adults and is increasingly now a workplace issue for employers and employees.

Terms of Reference

This Working Group is responsible for monitoring media, government, industry, academia and civil society for emerging issues and reporting back to the Policy Team on developments relevant to EFA’s objectives for the purpose of facilitating the production of submissions, events and campaigns as and where appropriate.

Online Safety covers the following types of issues:

• Digital citizenship, inclusion and well-being.
• Digital stalking – now a major issue for victims of domestic violence.
• Image-based abuse – the non-consensual sharing of intimate images.
• Online hate as an issue that affects equal social and economic participation of women and minority groups.
• Technology-driven safety issues affecting parents, schools and workplaces.

Government organisations working on these topics:

• Office of the eSafety Commissioner: Women, Ageing, Children & Teens
• Commonwealth Department of Communications and the Arts
• Australian Human Rights Commission
• Joint Select Committee on Cyber Safety (now dissolved)
• Australian Law Reform Commission references

Key Australian non-government resources:

• Australian Digital Inclusion Alliance
• WesNet (women’s safety)
• SmartSafe research into technology facilitated abuse
• Australian Stalking Information and Resource Centre
• Digital Self Defence for Women FaceBook Group – Rosie Williams
• The Online Hate Prevention Institute – Andre Oboler
• The Respect Campaign – Belinda Kheir and Kathie Melocco
• Cyber Safety Solutions – Susan McLean
• The Cyber Safety Lady – Leonie Smith
• Ginger Gorman – social justice journalist with expertise in online trolling
• Wikipedia summary of hate speech law in Australia

Academic sources:

• Misogyny Online: a short (and brutish) history, Dr Emma Jane – online abuse as a workplace and gender issue
• Technology facilitated abuse: the new breed of domestic violence, , Dr Hadeel Al-Alosi
• Not just revenge pornography: Australians’ experiences of image-based abuse, Dr Nicola Henry, Dr Anastasia Powell and Dr Asher Flynn.
• Australian National Research Organisation for Women (ANROWS) results for stalking
• Australian Institute of Criminology results for cyber bullying and digital stalking
• Intimate Partner Violence, Stalking & Technology, Cynthia Southworth, Jerry Finn, Shawndell Dawson, Cynthia Fraser and Sarah Tucker.

Working Group Members

• Rosie Williams (Lead)
• Nick Kavadias