IT’S been a good week for hitting back at cavemen.

Lauren Mayberry, singer with Glasgow band Chvrches, spoke out about her experience of online misogyny because the “just ignore it and it will blow away argument” is not working.

Lauren was threatened with sexual violence and branded a "slut" and a "whore" following the release of the band’s music video for the song Leave A Trace.

The 27-year-old said it was a “sad state of affairs”. She’s right.

I know it shouldn’t but it still surprises me to see how nasty people are online. Lauren discussed a horrific incident when someone tweeted her to “stick a gun in your mouth”.

Would these people act the same way in real life? Would the same bile come spewing out their mouths if they had stepped away from the keyboard?

Obviously some people are genuinely that horrible, but a lot of internet users seem to be out of control online.

In an interview about her experience, Lauren said: “If you don’t like what a woman is wearing, you don’t like her opinion, you don’t like what it is she represents, then you fall back on the basic caveman arguments of threatening physical and sexual violence because it is your trump card.

“Because that’s the way you get somebody to shut up.”

Opinion is divided on the best way to target online bullies. Some people say you should starve them of oxygen by ignoring them completely.

There’s the argument that you should kill them with kindness. Or you could confront them and tell them they’re wrong.

Lauren is right not to accept it or be silenced and we should be standing up to it.

If the abuse is violent the police should be involved.

Projects like Everyday Sexism are good for recording incidents, however minor they might seem. But it’s not just women being targeted by online trolls.

I think Twitter should introduce a 'think before you speak' button.

Every tweet should come with a five minute stand-by period which asks: Do you REALLY want to tweet that? It might make a few folk realise how ridiculous they’re being.

The same button should apply to comments on websites and forums.

If we can’t be trusted to say constructive things online then we all have to pay the price.

If attitudes don't change we might have to take away the internet altogether and go back to prehistoric times quite literally.