South African Law
Responses in South Africa to both cyber bullying and sexting are fragmented and rely on various pieces of legislation, common law definitions of criminal offences and civil law remedies in cases. Generally, the undesirable acts contravene the relevant provisions of existing criminal law legislation, fit common law or statutory crime definitions, or meet the requirements for civil law remedies.The fragmented response to cases of online violence is not unique to South Africa; internationally there is little case law that provides any precedent, and countries and states are tending to feel their way forward cautiously.
South Africa does not have specific legislation dealing with cyber bullying, which would usually fall under the definition of harassment. The victims of cyber bullying therefore have to rely on remedies offered by the criminal law and/or civil law. The legal consequences and remedies discussed below are applicable to all perpetrators of cyber bullying, and are available to all victims of cyber bullying, irrespective of the ages of the perpetrator or the victim.
Depending on the nature of the acts of cyber bullying, the perpetrator may be criminally charged with the following criminal offences:
- Crimen injuria
- Assault
- Criminal defamation
- Extortion
- Harassment
South African Law Applied to Cyber Bullying & Harassment
Source: cyberbullying.org.za