Activity 8 Legal Contexts and Digital Identities

Create a blog post where you identify an ethical dilemma in your own practice linked to a digital or online activity.

As I alluded to at the start of my previous post, a great deal of my time as a Deputy Principal in a large North Canterbury secondary school, is spent attempting to solve issues created OUTSIDE of school hours. Many of these are caused by the students misuse or lack ofunderstanding around  the use of social media - snapchat photos that do NOT disappear; Instagram sledging; Facebook bullying and harrassment by texting are far more prevalent than physical bullying. 

Code of Ethics

The Code of Ethics for Certified Teachers focuses on a commitment to learners; parents and whānau; society and the teaching profession. Without exaggeration, I am dealing with issues that 'test' this code on a weekly basis. In particular these last two bullet points of the commitment to learners:

• promote the physical, emotional, social, intellectual and spiritual wellbeing of learners,
• protect the confidentiality of information about learners obtained in the course of professional service, consistent with legal requirements, 

and the the last bullet point of the commitment to parents and whānau

• respect their rights to information about their children, unless that is judged to be not in the best interests of the children.

As the introductory notes of the code state:

'The Code isn't a set of rules that must be followed. It is a set of principles that should be applied to situations, with careful reflection. Teachers should use the Code as a guide to help them make ethical decisions, recognising questions of ethics may not always have straightforward answers.'

This is explanation is totally apt when dealing with issues created by the misuse of social media that impact on students lives at school. 

Source: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Sxting

Sxting, as described above, is one of the biggest causes of in-school issues that I have come across in the last 5 years. As discussed by Filipovic (2013) it is often used by girls as a means of achieving revenge, for whatever reason - a look, an often misinterpreted word, fear of losing one's boyfriend, jealousy ....the list is endless. Last year I was informed that girls keep albums of such images of other girls they know, for future leverage or protection. 

Ethical dilemmas often present as a tension between promoting the social and emotional well-being of a 14 (or 16 or 18) year old female student whose recently departed ex-boyfriend has forwarded intimate 'sxt' messages to his friends who have saved and forwarded and so on AND the rights of parents to know and understand what has caused the recent and dramatic changes in their once outgoing daughter (while boys are often the victims of bullying, I have found they are less likely to be victims of 'sxting').

Involving the school's Youth Aide Officers, especially when the students involved are underage, a key part of how we deal with this dilemma. Once the victim hears, from an 'official' the ins and outs of the law, I have found that with support, even the most reluctant young woman, is more able to discuss the events with their parents. In the case of the students that  I have dealt with in the last six months who have been been struggling with depression, lack of interest at school and more than often self-harming, the right of the parents to know and understand their child's emotional and psychological health, has outweighed the student's rights to confidentiality. 

Law Changes 

I am optimistic that the recent changes to the Harmful Digital Communications Act, 2015 will signal a change in how cyber-bullying such as 'sxting' will be dealt with. ANY use of digital technology that causes 'harm' to an individual could be prosecuted, fined and/or jailed. Making examples of 'sxting' criminals will be a big shock for many students. 

Source: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2015/0063/latest/whole.html

The definition of harm, is clear cut and will I believe, make it far easier for the victims of crimes such as 'sxting' to feel confident to confront the perpetrators of the crime. 

Educating them that no image is EVER private and that human nature is NEVER predictable, may take more time and resources. 

harm means serious emotional distress

Source: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2015/0063/latest/whole.html

Sources

Code of Ethics for Certificated Teachers. (n.d.). Retrieved March 05, 2016, from http://www.educationcouncil.org.nz/content/code-of-ethics-certificated-teachers-0

Filipovic, J. (2013, January 28). 'Revenge porn' is about degrading women sexually and professionally | Jill Filipovic. Retrieved March 02, 2016, from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/28/revenge-porn-degrades-women

Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015. (n.d.). Retrieved February,27, 2016, from http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2015/0063/latest/whole.html

Sxting. (n.d.). Retrieved March 02, 2016, from http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Sxting