ONE in five teenage girls deliberately accesses pornography on the internet, which is encouraging some to engage in explicit sex, according to a leading teen psychologist.

And one third admit they have bullied or harassed someone online, according to a survey on the online habits of teenage girls. Adolescent psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg said some young girls were having oral, anal and group sex after deliberately or accidentally finding porn online. "The illusion of anonymity on the net gives those girls a virtual dutch courage," Dr Carr-Gregg said. "I do think this (survey) should be a wake-up call. This is clearly evidence that the situation is getting worse." The poll, completed by more than 800 Australian girls aged 12 to 18 via Girlfriend magazine's web page, was done as part of a year-long "I delete bullies" campaign. The survey, conducted over three months, also found:

THREE quarters know someone who has been bullied or harassed online.

MORE than 40 per cent had been asked to send naked or semi-naked pictures of themselves via the internet.

ONE third had been sexually harassed online.

ABOUT half admitted they freely gave their mobile numbers at school.

ONE quarter had been bullied via mobile phone and another quarter via the internet.

MORE than half did not know how to report bullying, harassment or pornography on the internet.

As part of the campaign, youth culture brands Girlfriend magazine, MySpace and Boost Mobile want cyber bullying to be made a crime and are lobbying the Federal Government. Girlfriend editor Sarah Oakes said the group was pressuring the Government to introduce nationally consistent legislation to punish and deter cyber bullies. "There's no specific legislation on it. It kind of falls loosely under the Telecommunications Act," she said. "The problem is really big, on the rise, and it needs to be taken more seriously because as this generation ages it's going to become a bigger problem." Punishments being sought would include referral to intensive treatment for sexual misbehaviour, empathy training, community service and, in the most serious cases, home detention or jail. "Unfortunately the statistics didn't shock me because we are just being so inundated with terrifying stories of what's happening online," Ms Oakes said. Many girls reported unknowingly being filmed performing sexual acts and finding the video on the internet. They also reported finding doctored images of themselves online and falling victim to vicious rumours circling via SMS messages, she said.

Case study 1:

"I HAVE been bullied by people I don't even know because they saw my profile and assumed that I was emo.
"I have had to change my account three times because I couldn't handle being threatened and harassed every time I went online.
"They would tell me that they were watching me and wanted to bash me up simply because of the way I looked.
"I finally got the courage to tell my family and I have been to counseling to get through it."

Case study 2:

"I GET bullied all the time on the internet.
"I know that it's my friends who are pretending to be someone else and say cruel things about my weight, but every time I ask them about it they deny it.
"I feel so depressed because I don't know where to get help."

Case study 3:

"I AM being bullied by a girl I used to be friends with and I don't know what to do.
"Every time I log into my account I have a nasty message from her that makes me want to cry.
"She posts lies about me on her account so I can't do anything about it."