Hate crime and prejudice-based behaviours: Hateful behaviour online

Digital is more entangled in all aspects of our lives, and we know that increased usage of social media has changed the means by which prejudicial views are expressed and disseminated.

The Behaviour in Scottish Schools: Research Report and the National Discussion on Education Final Report, highlighted concerns from school pupils about problematic use of social media, including a perceived increase in misogynistic views by male pupils related to online influencers, and the need to address the effects of disinformation and hate, to preserve the wellbeing of learners of all genders.

It is helpful to encourage children and young people to practice digital literacy skills and cyber resilience. This ensures that the internet works safely for them.

An important aspect of this is practising media literacy. Media literacy is the ability to think critically and make balanced judgements about any information we find and use. Developing media literacy can be done explicitly across all areas of the curriculum, including in subject areas such as English, History and Modern Studies.

The Digital Discourse Initiative professional learning course aims to provide educators in Scotland with knowledge and tools to counter the effects of online hate in schools. The free course includes content about the architecture of current social media platforms, with information about algorithms, artificial intelligence, and online information provided by Mark Christie, a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional.

Through exploring the features of disinformation, teachers and educators are provided with tools and strategies to equip pupils with the skills to evaluate sources, fact-check information, and identify false or prejudicial conspiracy narratives. Participants are also provided with evidence-based techniques to respond to prejudice and hate. It has been developed by Time for Inclusive Education and Institute for Strategic Dialogue.

Connecting Scotland have developed resources to build digital media literacy. When we talk about media literacy, we mean having the skills and understanding to evaluate what we see and share online – to ensure that we can all be wise consumers and creators of online content.

We would encourage those working with children and young people to share these resources with them. Resources consider how to engage positively online, the online environment, keeping data safe online, spotting fake news, disinformation and looking after wellbeing online.​

​Further and more specific classroom resources on Misinformation and the UK Riots include tackling misinformation, including the spread of misinformation in relation to the violence and disorder which took place across the UK in August 2024.​

Dundee International Women’s Centre also has a range of resources regarding Misinformation and Disinformation (diwc.co.uk).

Education Scotland's Cyber Resilience Toolkit for Teachers (glowscotland.org.uk)

And Finding and checking learner digital skills toolkit (glowscotland.org.uk)

‘Think B4 You Type’ is a toolkit that helps educators to best support young people in your school to lead anti-bullying work and deliver a ‘Think B4 You Type’ campaign. This was developed in partnership with respectme, the NSPCC and Youth Advisory Group members.

Some online behaviour may be illegal under the following legislation:

• The Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination, harassment, and victimisation based on protected characteristics, such as race, disability, and sexual orientation, which can encompass certain forms of online bullying.

• Section 127 of The Communications Act (2003) makes it an offence to send grossly offensive, obscene, or menacing messages through public electronic communications.

• The Malicious Communications Act 1988 covers the sending of letters or other articles with the intent to cause distress or anxiety, including online communications.

• The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 provides protection against a course of conduct amounting to harassment, which can include repeated online bullying incidents.

• The Defamation and Malicious Publication (Scotland) Act 2021 modernises the law on defamation, allowing individuals to seek redress for harm caused by false and damaging online statements.

• The Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Act 2016 criminalises the non-consensual sharing of intimate images.

• The Online Safety Act 2023 creates a number of new offences, including encouraging or assisting serious self-harm, cyberflashing, sending false information intended to cause non-trivial harm, threatening communications, intimate image abuse.

These legal provisions empower parents, young people, schools, authorities, and Police Scotland to take action against online bullying. Understanding that these laws exist can help adults working with, or caring for, children and young people to recognise when behaviour crosses legal boundaries and to take appropriate steps to protect them.