Cyberbullying as a way of causing suicide in the digital age

M. Torok, D. Hahn, S. Baker, A. Werner-Seidler, J. Wong, M.E. Larsen [7] point to the efficiency of self-directed digital interventions for suicide prevention and emphasise the importance of including information on direct suicide prevention in digital interventions. Scientists point to the fact that digital interventions directly aimed at combating suicidality can and should be promoted on the Internet and integrated into health systems in the countries where they have been tested so that they are available to those who need them, especially after any security problem has been ruled out. There is also a need to expand and test their use in various countries, including the Russian Federation, to help law enforcement agencies in detecting Internet communities that abet suicide.

In the Russian Federation, international programmes for the prevention of suicide are successfully applied. An example of this is the Facebook content monitoring programme developed by the UK, Ireland, the USA, and Norway. The result of the corresponding project was the use of a specific form that allows to report a potential suicide with the subsequent immediate transfer of this data to the police and social services. In April 2020, the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation formulated a proposal to toughen the responsibility for insults and bullying on the Internet, due to the fact that these atrocities often lead to suicide of victims. The corresponding initiative was submitted to the State Duma and the Federation Council. In particular, it is proposed to stipulated up to seven years of forced labour for the threat of murder and grievous bodily harm in the social media, and a fine of up to 6 million roubles for libel. Both chambers of parliament are ready to consider the amendments that are to be introduced to the Criminal Code and the Administrative Code. Lawyers believe that the innovations will expand the capabilities of law enforcement officers to qualify crimes in the network, in particular, with respect to Article 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation [5]. The discussion provided an opportunity to state the following: a) in the era of digital transformations, it is necessary to scrutinise the existing factors that influence the transition of frustration to the aggression of a criminal who leads or induces suicide on the Internet, paying attention to such a concept as “criminal aggression”; b) the involvement of the offender in the consequences when driving to suicide in most cases is expressed in the form of indirect intent; c) the correlation between suffering on the part of cyber bullies and their violent behaviour is unclear, but the results of this study indicate that these situations need to be investigated, and an anti -bullying education campaign to address the causes and consequences of bullying can help both criminals and their victims; d) 14 years of age should be defined as the minimum age limit for suicide; therefore, the age of a person who has driven another person to suicide should also be recognised as equal to 14 years and older; e) Articles 110 and 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation are in many respects similar, and by carrying out the acts stipulated in them, the offender performs actions leading to the same result, thu s, it is possible to merge these articles; f) scientists propose to expand the scope of Article 110.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation by establishing criminal liability for incitement to commit a murder by disseminating information about the methods of murder, as well as calls to commit it; f) the actions of the organisers of “suicidal quests” are aimed not only at specific users, but also at an individually indefinite circle of people; therefore, these acts infringe on public health and public morality and can be qualified under Article 239 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation; g) in solving the key issue - the development of the correct attitude towards life, when studying the problems of deviant behaviour of minors such social ins titutions as the family, school, work collective, etc. deserve special attention, which, in contrast to the Soviet period, have less significance in the social positive socialisation of the personality of a teenager; h) serious attention is paid to the prevention of suicides in the Russian Federation, as evidenced by effective international programmes; i) legal scholars emphasise that parents have a responsibility to discuss the relationship between offline and online peer harassment and suicidal thoughts, and consider using stories in the news to highlight the seriousness of the issue; j) digital interventions directly aimed at combating suicidality can and should be promoted on the Internet and integrated into health systems; k) there is a need to use digital Internet interventions in the Russian Federation, including to assist in the work of law enforcement agencies in detecting Internet communities that induce people to commit suicide.

Conclusions

The criminological characteristics of the criminal's personality during the driving to suicide is determined through the defects of personality features: hatred (behaviour), aggression (personality type), destructiveness; the involvement of the offender in the consequences when driving to suicide in most cases is expressed in the form of indirect intent. Cyberbullying is a real problem in Russian society, which can have serious consequences for health and life due to the spread of the suicide factor. In the era of digital transformations, special attention should be paid to the connection between the offender and the victim, carefully studying the social networks of both, taking into account the fact that a typical member of “death groups” is an emotionally unstable, subordinate, insecure, secretive, unassertive teenager, and this category is represented to a greater extent by a female audience. In the Russian Federation, attitudes towards violence are changing, combined with the growing importance of digital communication technologies in modern conditions, which has led to a legal solution to the problem of cyberbullicide in terms of a corresponding tightening of criminal liability. In the era of digital transformations, it is necessary to scrutinise the existing factors that influence the transition of frustration to the aggression of a criminal who leads or induces suicide on the Internet, paying attention to such a concept as “criminal aggression”.

The result of the discussion was the conclusion that 14 years of age should be defined as the minimum age limit for suicide; therefore, the age of the person who drove another person to suicide should also be recognised as equal to 14 years and older; Articles 110 and 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation are in many respects similar and by carrying out the acts stipulated in them, the offender performs actions leading to the same result, thus it is possible to merge these articles; in addition, it appears acceptable to expand the scope of Article 110.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation by establishing criminal liability for incitement to commit suicide by disseminating information about the methods of suicide, as well as calls to commit it. It is concluded that parents, school teachers, and work groups are obliged to discuss the connection between offline and online harassment and suicidal thoughts. It can also be concluded that the Russian Federation pays serious attention to the prevention of suicides, as evidenced by effective international programmes. Digital interventions (such as online or app-based) represent a promising strategy for removing many of the barriers to treatment because these interventions are confidential, can be accessed in a timely manner from anywhere, and they empower people to help themselves. The scalability of digital interventions allows to reach populations beyond the reach of conventional mental healthcare. Thus, there is a need to use digital Internet interventions in the Russian Federation, including to assist in the work of law enforcement agencies in the detection of Internet communities that abet people to commit suicide.

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