DEARBORN — The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) Michigan has created the first of its kind Cyber Civil Rights Monitor, a program that supports victims of online harassment by treating cyber assault as an offense on civil rights. 

The program is “in response to the recent uptick in suicides resulting from cyber bullying,” ADC Michigan said in a statement.

“The Cyber Civil Rights Monitor provides guidance, education, and advocacy for all victims of cyber bullying, regardless of age, ethnicity or religion.”

The ADC-Michigan’s Cyber Civil Rights Monitor will address cyber bullying as an attack on an individual’s civil rights; lobby for legislation criminalizing cyber bullying, revenge porn, and other cyber sexual assaults; raise national awareness of cyber civil rights; Provide a venue for victims of cyber bullying to receive legal guidance and support; and promote cyber civil rights advocacy campaigns in schools and universities.

ADC-Michigan will also help identify perpetrators of cyber bullying and advocate prosecution and create a task force to support victims.

Fatina Abdrabboh, the Director of ADC-Michigan, said cyber bullying should not go on without punishment.  

“The violations in posting of inappropriate pictures of women and minorities without their consent should not be tolerated,” she said. “There should be severe legal consequences to keep cyber hate crimes from growing at the current alarming level.  We are working to change that. The Cyber Civil Rights Monitor is a new dimension in our overarching goal of combatting all forms of hate, online and in our daily lives. The internet has too often been used as a vehicle for anonymous individuals and groups to engage in bigoted attacks that denigrate individuals based on their gender, lifestyle, ethnicity, or beliefs.”

Victim of cyber bullying can contact the ADC-Michigan at adcmich@adc.org or 313-581-1201.

“By providing a deep level of support to each case, and by providing educational outreach programs to members of the community, ADC-Michigan aims to reduce the proliferation of abuse both on and offline,” ADC-Michigan said in a statement. “The organization believes that the Cyber Civil Rights Monitor is the most effective way of deterring cyber bullying, and of using existing legal structures that support civil rights to punish perpetrators.”