Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) – If children, young people, women or queer people become victims of sexualized violence and sexism on the Internet, they should get better help according to the will of the SPD in the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament. To this end, the parliamentary group is demanding, among other things, a central advice center and an overall concept across the departments from the state government. Hate comments online are threatening the culture of debate, said media policy group spokeswoman Ina Blumenthal on Tuesday in Düsseldorf. The danger is that those affected no longer express themselves publicly. Especially girls and women as well as people of the so-called LGBTIQ community – for example gays, lesbians and trans people – are particularly affected.
In her motion, which the parliamentary group wants to bring to the state parliament on Thursday, she also calls for more information to be provided in schools and for parents to be more involved. In addition to teachers, police officers should also receive further training.
The SPD referred, among other things, to a Forsa study on hate speech for the North Rhine-Westphalia Media Authority, in which almost 80 percent of Internet users aged 14 and over said they had encountered hate speech on the Internet before. The consequences are, for example, physical fear reactions and mental suffering. Girls who made political statements on social media about issues such as equality and racism were particularly affected.
