On May 28^th, more than 200 high school students from throughout Rhode Island attended the first-ever Cyber Bullying Youth Forum hosted by Start Strong Rhode Island’s Hkupwithrespect and the E3 Academy.

At the event, teens led workshops examining issues like: Digital Disrespect, Textual Harassment, whether it’s okay to create a fake Myspace and what to do if your password is hacked by your partner on Facebook. The E3 Academy’s Principal’s Council also premiered their mini-documentary in which young people share personal stories of how digital abuse has touched their lives.

The forum was part of a statewide Start Strong effort to mobilize teens to work together to develop some real, action-steps for youth-driven change on the issue teen dating abuse. Hkupwithrespect.com is a social networking site and video project developed by Start Strong, that helps teens decide what’s cool and what’s not in relationships.

For more information on Start Strong Rhode Island, visit them online (www.hkupwithrespect.com) and on Facebook (www.facebook.com/hkupwithrespect).

Start Strong Rhode Island