Cyber Bullying Prevention for Classrooms
Young people’s lives are becoming more connected online. As they grow in a digital world, helping youth navigate personal safety and harassment online is equally as important as lessons for offline.
YWCA Halifax’s Open New Tab program equips teachers and junior high students in the Halifax Regional Municipality, with up-to-date workshops focused on preventing cyberbullying and cyberviolence. During these workshops, Open New Tab facilitates discussion while helping students to increase awareness, build skills, foster healthy relationships, and self-reflect.
Over 500 young participants benefit from Open New Tab’s content each year, delivered by engaged Youth Programs Coordinators. These dedicated leaders facilitate open discussions, tailor workshops to match the interests and learning styles of students, and provide cyberbullying and cybersafe resources for teachers.
Program Details
Open New Tab empowers youth to move through the online and offline world confidently and responsibly.
Delivery
Participating classrooms will have Open New Tab “guest speakers” visit their classroom once per week over eight weeks. Program content is well suited for a Healthy Living class, or classes of a similar subject.
Eligible Classrooms
Open New Tab is available to all junior high schools within the Halifax Regional Municipality of Nova Scotia.
Programming for Boys, Girls, and Gender Diverse Youth
The pressure that young people face online and offline is different across boys, girls, and gender diverse youth. Recognizing this, Open New Tab offers multiple program groups where students can talk about their unique experiences and find support from peers of the same or similar gender.
Trans and gender diverse youth are free to join the program stream that best fits their gender, experiences, and comfort.
GuySpace
➕ The GuySpace group offers a facilitated, interactive workshop that focuses on issues impacting boys and some gender diverse youth. [Click to learn more]
Young people are often taught that asking for help or feeling hurt is a weakness, and that men shouldn’t be weak. This pressure placed on young boys, paired with a growing exposure to hateful online content, can result in boys engaging in cyberviolence or hesitating to seek support.
From 2018 to 2022, boys ages 12 to 17 were charged or accused in 30 per cent of cyber-related hate crimes, while girls of the same age made up only 5 per cent. (Stats Canada, 2024)
GuySpace opens space for boys and gender diverse youth to talk about the pressures they face, help them use healthy emotional expression, and build self-confidence.
YSpace
➕ The YSpace group offers a facilitated, interactive workshop that focuses on issues impacting girls and some gender diverse youth. [Click to learn more]
Young women under the age of 25 experience some of the highest rates of violence in Canada. Online, girls and women ages 15 to 24 are over three times more likely than boys and men to be pressured into sending explicit videos, images, or messages (Stats Canada, 2024)
The YSpace group creates a supportive space for girls and gender diverse youth to talk about their experiences and learn ways to safely navigate the online world, while encouraging leadership and building self-esteem.
Workshop topics for GuySpace and YSpace can include:
- Body image
- Bullying and harassment
- Digital and online safety
- Healthy relationships
- Mental health
- Multi-cultural awareness
- Self-esteem
Sign Up Your Class for Open New Tab
Open New Tab programming begins every fall term and runs throughout the entire school yar. Students can join in at any point during the year.
To learn more, ask questions, and sign up your school for a workshop please contact:
Stacie Smith (she/her) | Youth Programs Lead
s.smith@ywcahalifax.com
