BULLYING PREVENTION MONTH - SIX FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Bullying Prevention Month

National Bullying Prevention Month was founded in 2006 by PACER’s National Bully Prevention Centers. Throughout the month of October, communities nationwide unite together to educate and raise awareness of bullying prevention. With more than one out of five students reported being bullied, it is our belief at the Y to raise awareness towards this issue. With the help from PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center, here are six facts to know about bullying.  

  1. Bullying directly affects students’ ability to learn. According to the Center for Disease Control, students who are bullied are more likely to experience low self-esteem and isolation, perform poorly in school, have few friends in school, have a negative view of school, experience physical symptoms, and experience mental health issues  

  2. Bystanders can be powerful allies. More than half of bullying situations (57 percent) stop when a peer intervenes on behalf of the student being bullied. With that statistic, students have a unique power to prevent bullying.  

  3. Bullying is not a “rite of passage” but a serious threat to student safety and well-being.  Some say bullying makes children tougher and is not a serious problem, but the reality is that students who are bullied are more likely to report increased negative effects to their emotional and physical health.  

  4. Anyone can bully, and anyone can be bullied. Students can have multiple roles: they can be the ones subjected to bullying and the one who bullies. Strategies that focus on holding students accountable for their behavior- but also empower them to change that behavior- are more effective than punitive punishments and peer mediation in bullying situations.  

  5. Bullying isn’t about resolving conflict; bullying is about control. In conflict, children self-monitor their behavior and generally stop when they realize they are hurting someone. When bullying, children continue their behavior when they realize it is hurting someone and are satisfied by a feeling of power and control.  

  6. Effective bullying prevention efforts involve students, parents, teachers, and community members.  Involving community members such as law enforcement officials, faith organizations, community action groups, and others allow school officials and parents to address the bigger issues of disrespect, bias, and violence that can contribute to bullying issues in schools. A community-wide effort shows students that adults care what happens to them and that they are not alone.  

 

Source: https://www.pacer.org/bullying/resources/facts.asp 

Authored by: cmccauley