What
is
bullying?
Bullying
is
when
someone
intimidates
or
causes harm
to another
person
on
purpose.
The
victims
of bullying
can be verbally,
physically
or
emotionally
assaulted
and are often
threatened
and made
to feel
frightened.
Bullying in school can include:
§hitting, hair-pulling
and kicking
§teasing
and name-calling – playing nasty jokes
§spreading rumours
§damaging possessions
§frightening
and intimidation - threatening
§exclusion at
playtime or from
social events
and networks
Bullying
Behavior
Despite
country and cultural differences, certain
similarities
by
gender,
age,
location,
and type
of victimization
appear
in bullying
in Argentina and elsewhere.
§Bullying
more often takes place
at school than on the way to
and from school.
§Boy bullies tend to
rely on physical
aggression
more than girl bullies, who often
use teasing,
rumor-spreading, exclusion,
and social isolation. Some researchers speculate that girls value social
relationships
more than boys
do, so girl bullies
set out to
disrupt
social relationships
with
gossip,
isolation,
silent
treatment,
and exclusion. Girls tend to
bully girls, while boys bully both boys
and girls.
§Consistently, studies indicate that boys
are more likely to
bully than girls.
§Bullies often do
not operate alone; it usually involves additional youngsters.
Who is affected?
Bullies
– Victims
- Those
who
support
the
bullies
–
Those
who
support
the
victim
–
Bystanders
(who
may
identify
with
the
victim
or
be afraid
to be the
next)
– Teachers
– Families
– School
communities
…
Peer victimisation
implies
complex
dynamics
and produces deep and lasting effects which
range
from
physical discomfort (headache,
stomachache)
to loneliness, school avoidance, lower grades, low self-esteem, stress, depression, suicide…
What are the consequences?
It triggers feelings such as anxiety, sadness,
irritation, embarrassmet
and shame,
uneasiness,
misery,
resentment,
stress…
“Bullying
injures
childrenphysically,
emotionally,
academically
and socially,
and erodes
self
-esteem.”
It is a social problem
which tend to
persist into
adulthood
and so affect work
and family relations.
Bullies
Bullies tend to:
§be
aggressive,
dominant
and
slightly
below
average
in intelligence
and reading
ability (by middle school)
§be
at least of
average
popularity
§be
insecure,
deep
down
§not to have much empathy for their victims
§be
impulsive
and unsuccessful
in school
§be going
through
a difficult
time
§feel overlooked or overshadowed
§be
copying
someone
else's
behaviour
- maybe an adult or older sibling at
home
§other members of
his /her family use aggression
or
force at
home.
Bullying can threaten students’ physical and emotional
safety at school and can negatively impact their ability to learn. The best way to address bullying is to stop it before it starts. There are
a number of things school
staff can do to make schools safer and prevent bullying.
Parents, school
staff, and other adults in the community can help kids prevent bullying by talking about it, building a safe school environment, and
creating a community-wide bullying prevention strategy.
Getting
Started
Conduct assessments in your school to determine how often bullying occurs, where it happens, how students
and adults intervene,
and whether your prevention efforts
are working.
It is important for everyone in the community to work together to send a unified message against bullying. Launch an awareness campaign to make the objectives known to the school, parents, and community members. Establish a school safety committee or task force to plan, implement, and evaluate your school's bullying prevention program.
Create a mission statement, code of conduct, school-wide rules, and a bullying reporting system. These establish a climate in
which bullying is not acceptable.
Establish a school culture of acceptance,
tolerance
and respect.
Use
staff meetings, assemblies, class
and parent
meetings, newsletters to
families, the school website,
and the student handbook to
establish a
positive climate at
school. Reinforce
positive social interactions
and inclusiveness.
Build bullying
prevention
material
into
the
curriculum
and school
activities.
Train teachers
and staff on the school’s
rules and policies. Give them the skills to
intervene consistently
and appropriately.
Stop bullying on the spot
When adults respond quickly and consistently to bullying behavior they send the message that it is not acceptable. Research
shows this can
stop bullying behavior over
time. There are
simple steps adults can take to
stop bullying on the spot
and keep kids safe.
Do:
•Intervene immediately. It is ok
to get another adult to help.
•Separate the kids involved.
•Make sure everyone is safe.
•Meet any immediate medical
or psychology needs.
•Stay calm. Reassure the kids involved, including bystanders.
•Model respectful behavior when you intervene.
Avoid these
common
mistakes:
•Don’t
ignore it.
Don’t
think
kids
can work
it
out
without
adult
help.
•Don’t
immediately
try to sort
out
the
facts.
•Don’t
force
other
kids
to say
publicly
what
they
saw.
•Don’t
question
the
children
involved
in front
of other
kids.
•Don’t
talk
to the
kids
involved
together,
only
separately.
•Don’t
make
the
kids
involved
apologize
or
patch
up relations
on
the
spot.
•
•A
weapon
is
involved.
•There
are threats
of serious
physical
injury.
•There
are threats
of hate-motivated
violence,
such
as racism
or
homophobia.
•There
is
serious
bodily
harm.
•There
is
sexual
abuse.
Anyone
is
accused
of an
illegal
act,
such
as robbery
or
extortion—using
force
to get
money,
property,
or
services.
It may help to:
Ask the child being bullied what can be done to make him or her feel safe. Remember that changes
to routine
should
be minimized.
He or she is not at
fault
and should not be
singled out. For example, consider rearranging classroom seating plans for everyone. If bigger moves
are necessary, such as
switching classrooms, the child who is bullied should not be
forced to
change.
Be persistent. Bullying may not end
overnight. Commit to
making it
stop and consistently support the bullied child.
Avoid these mistakes:
•Never tell the child to
ignore the bullying.
•Do
not blame the child for being bullied. Even if he
or she provoked the bullying,
no one deserves to
be bullied.
•Do
not tell the child to
physically fight
back against the kid who is bullying. It could get the child hurt,
suspended, or expelled.
•Parents should resist the
urge to contact the other parents involved. It may make matters worse. School or other officials
can act as
mediators between parents.
•Follow-up. Show
a commitment to
making bullying
stop. Because bullying is behavior that repeats or
has the potential to
be repeated, it takes consistent effort to
ensure that it stops.
Use consequences
to teach
Consequences that involve learning or building empathy
can help prevent future bullying. School
staff should remember to
follow the guidelines in their student code of conduct and
other policies in
developing consequences
and assigning
discipline.
For example, the child who bullied
can:
Lead a class
discussion about how to
be a good friend.
Write
a story
about the effects of
bullying or benefits of
teamwork.
Role-play a scenario or make a presentation about the importance of
respecting others, the negative effects of
gossip, or how to
cooperate.
Do a project
about
civil rights
and bullying.
Read
a book
about bullying.
Make
posters for the school about cyberbullying
and being smart
online.
Involve
the
kid
who
bullied
in making
amends
or
repairing
the
situation. The goal is to
help them see how their actions affect others.
For example, the child can:
•Write a letter apologizing to
the student who was bullied.
•Do
a good deed for the person who was bullied or for others in
your community.
•Clean
up, repair, or pay for any property they damaged.
•
Avoid
strategies
that
don’t
work
or
have
negative
consequences.
•Zero
tolerance or “three
strikes, you’re out” strategies don’t work. Suspending or expelling students who bully does not
reduce bullying behavior. Students
and teachers may be
less likely to
report
and address bullying if suspension or expulsion is the consequence.
•Conflict resolution
and peer mediation don’t work for bullying. Bullying is not a conflict between people of
equal power who
share equal blame. Facing those who have bullied may further upset kids who have been bullied.
•Group treatment for students who bully doesn’t work. Group members tend to
reinforce bullying behavior in
each other.
•Follow-up. After the bullying issue is
resolved, continue finding ways to
help the child who bullied to
understand how what they do
affects other people. For example, praise acts of
kindness or talk about what it means to
be a good friend.
Information on this is available from the following websites:
