CAPE BRETON - The video rant of a live stream video, telling Frances to kill herself, is still on the public Facebook wall of one of her alleged harassers.
"Go hang yourself. Do society a favour," the person in the video screams angrily, without showing their face.
Frances, who is in her 40s, doesn't know why this person who went to her high school has gotten involved in a dispute with her ex-girlfriend over the cell phone Frances wants to be taken out of her name. However, she fears it's her ex finding a way to continue her alleged attack on her through social media, email, text, and phone because the two women were told not to have contact with each other.
Related: Cyberbullying another kind of domestic abuse
"I need this girl to leave me alone. And she's just not doing that. It's worse than when she was here...it's ridiculous," said Frances, whose identity is being protected in hopes to prevent increased harassment.
"She shouldn't be dating. She should be (seeking medical treatment). It's out of hand. She's breaking into my online accounts and everything now. It's way out of hand."
Weaponizing digital technology
Frances said her 10-month relationship with her ex was tumultuous.
During their relationship, France alleges her ex went through her messages, made her block friends due to "their looks" and smashed in the bathroom door during a fight when Frances had locked herself inside.
Calling her ex's anger "explosive," Francis said after breaking into the bathroom, her ex allegedly took her antidepressants, put the whole three-month prescription in her mouth, then spit them in the kitchen sink. The Cape Breton Post has seen some communication from Frances' ex, which includes insults and threats of harm.
Frances thought she'd finally be able to move on after her ex moved out in September.
Then the calls, texts, emails, and social media messages started.
"I have over a thousand emails. And the texts. There was a point at the end of October, I got tired of opening my email and seeing her go off all over again. It was constant. Constant. 'You did this to me, you hurt me this way.'"
Her ex also allegedly told Frances the Tumblr and YouTube channel she started were dedicated to their break-up. On the YouTube channel, there were 197 songs and almost 1,500 views by publication time, while the Tumblr has many sexual images, some of which depict scenes of bondage.
In December, Frances woke to find a tire slashed on her car. That morning, there were more allegedly hate-filled emails in her inbox.
While Frances has no idea who slashed her tire, she can't help but fear the worst.
"It's scary. I feel like I always have to watch my back, anywhere I go."
Police and the law
Frances has reported many incidents to Cape Breton Regional Police, who have also been contacted by her ex. Frances is suspicious about the timing - the reports coincide with times Frances has received abusive communications from her ex.
Police told Frances there wasn't a crime they could lay charges in. By publication time, she was waiting for her scheduled court date for a peace bond hearing.
Police spokesperson Desiree Magnus spoke to the Cape Breton Post generally about steps taken when investigating reports of cyberbullying, as she is unable to speak to the specifics of France's case.
"There is no specific criminal charge for cyberbullying itself. Cyberbullying can be criminal if it falls under a criminal offence, such as harassment, threats, extortion, distribution of intimate images, and child pornography," she said in a written response to emailed questions.
"A criminal charge for harassment involves repeated, unwanted contact with a person over a period of time; a criminal charge for threats involves a direct threat to cause bodily harm to another person. So the evidence must prove those characteristics of repeated, unwanted contact or a direct threat to harm, in order to warrant a criminal charge."
Help for victims
While police might not be able to file a criminal charge in cases like Frances', there are measures in place to protect Nova Scotians from cyberbullying.
The Intimate Images and Cyber-Protection Act in Nova Scotia protect cyberbullying victims under the law. The Supreme Court can issue an order to have images, posts, and videos taken down, and victims can be awarded money for damages caused by cyberbullying.
There is also a provincial CyberScan unit that helps victims navigate court proceedings, legal systems and work as mediators between involved parties in attempts to stop the actions and have images, posts, and videos removed from social media platforms.
Dr. Wayne MacKay, a Dalhousie University law professor who is the former chair of the Nova Scotia Task Force on Bullying and Cyberbullying, said these cases can be difficult to prosecute since lawyers have to prove who sent the allegations. But as technology develops, so have new identification systems, making identification easier.
The task force was put in place after the tragic death of Rehtaeh Parsons, a Nova Scotia teen who died by suicide after being cyberbullied when media was released online of what some allege is her sexual assault.
MacKay said Parsons' case is an example of how harmful cyberbullying can be.
"Basically, the internet has become a new powerful weapon for both good and bad. And the evil or bad part of it is very significant, the sort of unpleasant underbelly of the internet is cyberbullying and hate speech and racism," said Mackay.
"It can be another form of domestic violence and the kind that might escalate...into real physical violence...It's not like the 'old sticks and stones will break my bones but names will never hurt me.' Well, no. In fact, the impact is very big in cyberbullying."
Nicole Sullivan is diversity and education reporter with the Cape Breton Post.
What is cyberbullying?
Occurs when someone uses electronic communication, like email, text messages or social media, to bully someone else.
Examples include:
- Threatening, indimitating, harassing
- Releasing naked images of a person
- Encouraging someone to die by suicide
- Revealing intimate, confidential details
Source: CyberScan
