Kelowna

Photo: Contributed

From the student's Facebook page

An online anti-bullying petition has been created by Kristi Essler and Holly Weir. The page is designed to put pressure on Facebook to change its policies to help victims of cyberbullying.

Essler, a third year Bachelor of Social Work Student at the University of British Columbia Okanagan, says they created the Facebook page as a school project, now they are collecting signatures from around the world.

"The petition was launched approximately 21 days ago and has already received 115 signatures to date from across Canada, the United States, England, Zambia, the Philippines, Peru and several other countries around the world. In particular, and as a result of a thorough review of the literature, Holly and I have established a number of ways in which the reporting policies and practices of Facebook can be improved in order to protect the victims of cyberbullying and begin to hold the bullies accountable."

Essler says they are hoping people start to spread the word through social media and by having people repost the Facebook page to keep the conversation going.

"We are hoping to get as much awareness of this petition at the community level so as to gather signatures and raise the voices of our neighbours, friends and community members so that this generation, and generations to come, no longer have to fear for their lives within the social media environment." 

The students want people to know there are over 30 billion photos, statuses, posts and comments shared every month on Facebook.

"In 2012, more than half of all Facebook users indicated that they had experienced at least one form of Facebook bullying in the past year. It is time to protect our family, friends, neighbours and peers by taking a stand against cyberbullying on Facebook."

Click here to check out the petition to change Facebook policies.