Law enforcement representatives from more than 25 St. Louis area police departments will gather this Wednesday for a workshop on cyberbullying.
Tina Meier, whose 13-year-old daughter, Megan, committed suicide in 2006 after being the victim of cyberbullying will lead the workshop. She says the event is unique because in addition to discussing the impact cyberbullying can have on children; as a training exercise officers will also be reinvestigating cases using laws that were passed after her daughter’s death.
“I think it’s only going to help to give them more tools to be able to help other families and get things prosecuted so that hopefully it deters these cyberbullying activities that we’re seeing every single day, in every single school across the country,” Meier says.
Meier says she’d like to see additional protections in Missouri and across the country for LGBT students.
Harriett Hubbard is executive director of Child Safety Day, the nonprofit that is organizing the workshop. She says instances of cyberbullying can often snowball into acts of violence.
“The objective is to help police officers define cyberbullyng and develop a plan that is both proactive and reactive in terms of responding to the issue,” Hubbard says.
Hubbard says they hope to bring the workshop back next summer and expand it to include educators and attorneys.
“We want to make sure all the parties involved are treated fairly,” Hubbard says.
