Gitanjali Sathiadas¹, Dhanan Vijayaratnam¹, Vyeshnave Karunainathan ¹
1- Faculty of Medicine, University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Abstract Body
Introduction: Cyber Related Violence and Exploitation refers to the exploitation of children via digital platforms through the use of internet.
Objectives: Were to assess the prevalence of cyber-related violence among Grade 10 students in Jaffna, their knowledge of it and its prevention, and associated sociodemographic and personal factors.
Methods: Stratified proportionate cluster sampling was used to select participants and data were collected using translated, validated questionnaire from Social Policy Analysis and Research Centre. Analysis was done using SPSS v20. Ethical approval was obtained (J/ERC/25/170/NDR/0342).
Results: A total of 740 students were recruited and the prevalence of cyber-related violence was 13.92%. Students correctly identified specific forms of cyber violence, including sending indecent messages(80.4%), sharing inappropriate videos or images(79.3%), online sharing of harmful content(77%), cyberbullying(76.7%), and cyber extortion(78.4%). The risk was higher among students who had multiple social media accounts (χ²=8.22, p=0.004), accessed the internet at a younger age (χ²=7 .88, p=0.019), and used the internet outside their homes (χ²=8.07 , p=0.005) had constant access to the internet (χ²=12.56, p=0.003), using real profile photos (χ²=4.44, p=0.035), real names (χ²=3.66, p=0.050), and sharing relationship status (χ²=7 .73, p=0.005). Majority (84.7%) were willing to report victimization, only 2.6% knew all the reporting methods.
Conclusion: Cyber-related violence is common among Grade 10 students. Despite good awareness of its forms, knowledge on prevention, especially reporting, is limited, highlighting the need for targeted digital safety education.