Allyson Pereira, a 16-year-old suffers digital abuse

 October 27, 2010 12:28 am

In CNN’s reportage about the teenager Allyson Pereira the details of digital sexual abuse were revealed. 1 of 10 teens reportedly have faced this problem. In case of Allyson, the threat came from the side of her boyfriend who started his plan with cruel instant messages saying Allyson cheated on him. Then he left her and came back in a month with a strange offer. He promised to be her boyfriend again if the girl made naked picture of herself and sent him. After Allyson did the requested, he immediately spread her topless picture throughout the high school. Deeply regretting about sending the guy her picture, Allyson said "I was so ashamed, embarrassed and mad,". "Someone actually came to me and said 'You're Ally. Is that you?' " she added.

It is clear the guy never got back. Allyson Pereira spoke on MTV about her awful experience in a new MTV anti-digital dating abuse campaign, "A Thin Line," in December. Her friends and relatives also commented the situation in attempts to prevent such pain to be caused to other teens.

When the Cyberbullying Research Center studied the modern youth’ behavior it was revealed that teens use their gadgets and social media to abuse their friends and partners. Kevin Jennings, assistant deputy secretary of education for theOffice of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, says digital dating abuse is becoming a more frequent problem among teens. The 24/7 technology enables the abusive partner to stalk the other person after school and on weekends, he said.

Fighting the digital abuse and its consequences, different campaigns were launched, including hot lines for suffered children.

The Family Violence Prevention Fund is working with the Department of Justice to release a series of public service announcements in their "That's Not Cool" campaign. Liz Claiborne Inc., a major women's clothing company, created the hot line and web site "Love is Respect.." where teens may call any time.

Allyson Pereira got her college degree and managed to overcome her psychologic traum. She advices teens to "Tell somebody they trust and try to get help because you can't go through it yourself," she said. "It's too much of a burden to carry."

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By Manana

Categories: World