Bullying: A Global Epidemic

One of Teacher’s Without Borders initiatives is based on bullying. They state that it has become one of the most important issues of our time. This was brought home to me just yesterday when I had my 18 year old son in the car with two of his friends. They were talking about a situation where one of them had been cyber-bullied. My son said, “When kids get bullied at school, it affects them for the rest of their lives.” You know what? He’s right!

Bullying is an insidious phenomenon that damages how children (and adults) see themselves. It makes them question their self-worth and their importance of being present. Teen suicide has become an epidemic in my home town, especially among young men. We have one of the highest suicide rates in Qld. I have the unfortunate pleasure of being a mother who has had to deal with this situation personally, only finding out the extent of the issue when it was almost too late. Thankfully, with help from professionals, and organisations like Livin, who specifically target the stigma of mental health among young men, and provide school programs to highlight and tackle the issues such as bullying and self image, my family did not become a statistic.

Bullying is an issue that affects everyone and we are often poorly equipped to deal with it. Working in the Special Needs arena, I am well aware of the added challenges that my students face on a daily basis. Being different is like an invitation. Judith Hebron has written an interesting article about why children with autism often fall victim to bullies. Find her article here:

https://theconversation.com/why-children-with-autism-often-fall-victim-to-bullies-27087​

So what can we do to help reduce the occurrence of bullying?

The most important thing we can do is educate our pupils and staff. Teaching students to intervene, put pressure on bullies and to seek adult support can reduce bullying. Educating students about the long term effects of bullying, running programs designed to combat bullying, building peer support, providing safe spaces and collaborating with parents and the community, are all strategies for making schools bully free zones.

Teacher’s Without Borders has joined with Bullying.org to develop courses and resources specially geared for teachers and community leaders to help combat this issue.

For more information visit TWB – Bullying Initiative at

https://teacherswithoutborders.org/bullying/

And Bullying.org at

https://bullying.org/

For more information about Livin #itaintweaktospeak visit

https://livin.org/