Mayor calls for stop to online trolling

MAYOR Councilor Samantha McIntosh has had enough of women, young people, and other vulnerable members of the community being abused online.

At the ordinary meeting of Ballarat City Council, Cr McIntosh called for a report detailing what the City of Ballarat can do to combat online trolling.

“Too often we see women, young people and others subjected to online trolling which goes unchecked and unchallenged,” Cr McIntosh said.

“I have been subjected to significant and frequent trolling and am tired of being told that it is something that I should just accept in my role as Mayor or Councillor.

“The people behind these abusive attacks and comments forget that people they target are people; people who have families, partners and children that also see and are impacted by these public personal attacks.”

Cr McIntosh cited the weekend’s Out of the Shadows event as an example of Ballarat’s recognition of the need to raise awareness about suicide and its causes.

“On the weekend our community came together to recognise that depression and suicide have a deep impact on our city and I want to know what we can do to prevent online abuse and to support our community to come together and take a stand against this unacceptable online violence.”

“We must raise the standard and expectation that we set as a community. I would hope that other organisations in Ballarat would join us on this journey, including the local media, higher education and training providers, and the health sector, just to name a few.”

The call for the report was seconded by Cr Grant Tillett and carried.