Civil organisations and the Western Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) have made a plea after a social worker shared insights into one of the problems they have to deal with.
Experts say cyberbullying and online harassment have become mammoth challenges in South Africa, shifting rapidly from minor digital nuisances into serious legal and psychological battlegrounds.
Yolanda Akram, a human rights attorney, said she was increasingly seeing clients seek legal advice after being subjected to defamatory, abusive and threatening comments on social media.
“While many people still dismiss online abuse as ‘just the internet’, the reality is that the emotional, reputational and even financial harm caused by online attacks can be significant. What is posted online can spread rapidly, remain accessible indefinitely and often reaches far wider audiences than traditional forms of defamation.”
Akram said social media had created a space where individuals often felt emboldened to say things they would never say in person.
