Cyberbullying laws coming?

One in three 12-to-17-year-olds have been victims of cyberbullying, a recent survey found, and the anti-crime group that commissioned it wants something done about it, CNET reports. The organization, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, also found that…

* One in six 6-to-11-year-olds have been cyberbullied.
* 10% of teens and 4% of preteens said they'd been threatened with physical harm online.
* 50% of the teens and 30% of the preteens never told their parents about the cyberbullying.

Fight Crime is urging passage of a bill introduced last February by Rep. John Shimkus, an Illinois Republican, that would provide funding for bullying and harassment prevention programs in schools. PhillyBurbs.com picked up the story, adding that Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett called on schools in his state to take action on cyberbullying. Meanwhile, the Christian Science Monitor cites the view of a sociologist that "social norms intervention" is needed to combat middle-school-level bullying: showing kids that, in fact, bullying is not normal. "Another key is for students to understand that there's peer support for seeking help from adults when bullying takes place," the Monitor reports.