CONSENT needs to be given by complainants so action can be taken.
This was stated by Online Safety Commission official Tajeshwari Devi during a panel discussion of a session of the Women in Media (WiM) conference at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva yesterday.
Ms Devi said many social media users were unaware of the process the commission followed when handling online complaints.
“The first approach (is) us asking the survivor how they would like to go about it,” Ms Devi said.
“If they want a post to just be removed, we assist them in just removing the content. Sometimes, they don’t want to take the case further.
“The fact (is) that consent needs to be given by the complainant, then we need to further that complaint, but if they say that they don’t want to, the ideal approach is to just remove the post.”
She also said continued public discussion about survivors, no matter how well intended, could add to their trauma.
“When we keep posting something online about the survivor facing a particular issue, and we continue to say why the commission isn’t doing anything about this survivor, aren’t we still hurting the survivor?”
“Regardless (if) we are posting something positive, aren’t we still hurting the survivor by posting it? Because when we post, remember there are thousands of comments.”
Ms Devi also confirmed that while the commission does not have prosecutorial powers, a memorandum of understanding with the Fiji Police Force ensures prosecution of the alleged offenders.
