New laws to protect victims of online bullying

Parliament will soon debate ‘Dolly’s Law’ which relates to online bullying and cyber stalking.

The Bill is named after Amy ‘Dolly’ Everett who was the young face of Akubra hats who took her own life early this year after relentless attacks from online bullies.

The new legislation will change the definition of ‘stalking and intimidation’ to include the bullying of a person on social media “with the intention of causing fear of physical or mental harm”.

This type of bullying is not restricted to young people. Sadly, it’s now very common in domestic violence cases. The proposed maximum penalty for online stalking and intimidation is five years in jail.

I believe this reform is long overdue and I’m keen to hear your thoughts or experiences.

You can read a summary of the proposed law on this link: https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/…/Pag…/HansardResult.aspx…'