A woman posted lies about her ex-husband online that led to him losing his job and his annual salary of €89,000.

The man, who was separating from his wife, was one of the many victims of cyber harassment - the subject of a campaign with the aim of having better laws against cyber-harassment.

The Anti-Cyber Harassment Alliance Malta (Acha) has launched a website www.achamalta.com where it is inviting the public to make recommendations. Once the recommendations are sifted, a draft policy will be drawn up and discussed in a seminar towards the end of this year.

The campaign has also launched a petition, which has so far drawn 2,500 signatories.

The campaign is hoping for legislation next year. 

"We can not wait for a tragedy like the case of Hanna Smith who was driven to suicide, before taking action,"  Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, coordinator of the campaign, said.

Psychologist Charles Azzopardi said he knew of Maltese children who attempted suicide because they were bullied on the internet. Several adults were also the victims of this type of harassment, he said..

Silvio Debono, MCAST chairman, spoke about the lifetime repercussions of such harassment. He said he knew of students who stopped studying due to bullying.

JPO: campaign is nothing personal and should not be trivialised

A journalist asked Dr Pullicino Orlando, a former Nationalist MP, if he had decided to conduct this  campaign because he recently was targeted by an online blogger.

He said that this was not the case and such statements trivialised this important cause. He pointed out that he had led several other campaigns, including the divorce campaign, the campaign against dumping in a quarry near the Hagar Qim temples and plans for a cement plant near Siggiewi. Every time, people trivialised matters by saying he was conducting the campaigns for personal reasons.

The campaign is chairman by  Labour MP Deborah Schembri and includes former PN MP Jesmond Mugliette, MEP Joseph Cuschieri, Psychologist Charles Azzopardi and Mr Debono.