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Bullying
Other factors to consider include: » the child's temperament School is one of the few places that children are brought together in large numbers. Children and youth spend an average of about 6 hours a day in school; therefore, school is a society within a society. Children and youth try to fit in, often by joining in peer group circles and cliques. STAT: Most bullying happens in or close to the school building (British Columbia Ministry of Education, 20001). Bullying and harassment have traditionally been considered rites of passage, something all children and youth must go through. This is a myth. It has only been in the past 20 years or so that bullying and harassment have received international attention. This attention has in large part been due to children and youth who commit suicide as a result of being a victim of relentless bullying and their inability to cope. There have been enough incidents' of children committing suicide for this reason that a new phrase has been coined: bullycide. In Canada, 1 in 5 children is bullied; 1 in 12 youth are regularly harassed in school by other students (Gladue, 19992). Children at risk: » being submissive STAT: 1 in 6 gay teens is beaten so badly during adolescence that he requires medical attention (Egan, 20003). » religious beliefs are considered inferior or deserving of contempt STAT: Young girls were more afraid of becoming fat than they were of nuclear war, cancer or losing their parents.(Rigby, 19964). » wears braces or glasses The above list reflects that ANYONE can be a target. Boys and girls are equally likely to be victims. As a violence and abuse prevention educator, I often hear from people that their school does not have a bullying problem. This is simply not true. Perhaps liability issues enter into the mix, or perhaps they really do believe the claim. The following statistics dispel that claim: STAT: 56% of boys and 40% of girls in grades 6 and 8 had bullied someone that year (International study done for Health Canada, 19995). STAT: 43% of boys and 35% of girls said they had been bullied in that year (International study done for Health Canada, 19996). STAT: 71% of teachers said they usually intervene in bullying episodes; 25% of students said teachers intervene (Pepler & Craig, 20007). This last statistic shows a huge discrepancy, and tells us that teachers are unaware of how prevalent the problem is in schools. If teachers are unaware of the problem, they are not in a position to intervene. Without intervention, bullies do not stop the behaviour. Left unchecked, the behaviour eventually escalates to harassment. If your child is being bullied, Free From Bullies is a book that could help you help your child.
The difference between B & H is in the age of the people involved, and the legal ramifications of each. Bullying describes behaviours between children under the age of 12 that is offensive, cruel, intimidating, or humiliating. It is not normal aggression between very young children. Harassment is the adult term for bullying. Bullying is a relationship issue; harassment is a human rights issue. Harassment is considered a form of discrimination that can be based on: » race In Canada, harassment is dealt with under human rights legislation and victims can charge the offender. Bullying is not dealt with under human rights legislation. Both B & H have the potential to fall under the Criminal Code of Canada, if the law has been broken. The significant factor in harassment is IMPACT not INTENT. Once the harasser becomes aware that his or her behaviour is offensive and unappreciated, either by being told or the body language of the other person or persons makes it clear that the comment or gesture is unwelcome, if the offensive behaviour continues, it becomes harassment.
It is not possible to talk about any kind of violence without talking about power. There are several kinds of power: » physical power - physical strength or ability » personality power - gender, ethnic identity, age, physical appearance and personal presence » positional power - position of authority » relational power - status within the social system; with adolescents it comes in the form of popularity, money and/or talent » connection power - connections with influential people » organizational power - specific authority, rights, and privileges as determined by job description » network power - membership in formal/informal networks » expert power - perception of expertise, skills/knowledge » information power - information possessed or ability to access information » resource power - ability to access human, educational, financial and technical resources When a power imbalance exists between two people, that imbalance may result in B & H behaviour. Abuse of power is at the core of B & H. All of society needs to be concerned about B & H. Consider these criminality statistics: STAT: Bullies who have been identified by age 8 are six times more likely than others to be convicted of a crime by the time they reach the age of 24. They are five times more likely to end up with serious criminal records by age 30 (National Resource Centre for Safe Schools, 19998). STAT: 60% of boys who were nominated as bullies in grades 6 to 9 had at least one court conviction by age 24; 35% to 40% had three or more convictions compared to 10% for the control group of non-bullying boys (Voices for Children, 20029). Unchecked bullying turns into harassment when the child becomes an adolescent. When the adolescent starts dating, relationship violence often begins. When the youth becomes an adult and enters the workforce, workplace harassment begins. When the adult marries, spousal abuse begins. When they have children, child abuse begins. And as they and their parents age, elder abuse begins. If society chooses not to intervene, if society operates under the myth that bullying is a fact of life and of growing up, we will all pay the price as the bullies get older and their crimes escalate.
If you want information on cyberbullying, check out www.cyberbullying.org For my Canadian visitors, check out www.cyberbullying.ca
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The child abuse continuum shows that children who have been abused can go on to exhibit bullying behaviours, though it's important to understand that not all abused children become bullies, and that not all bullies come from abusive homes.2 Gladue, Y.I. (December, 1999). Province strives for safe and caring schools. Alberta Sweetgrass, 15.
3 Egan, J. (2000, December 10). Lonely Gay Teen Seeking Same. The New York Times Magazine, Section 6, 110.
4 Rigby, K. & Slee, P. (1996). Bullying in schools. Australian Council for Educational Research.
5 & 6 Health Canada. (1999). Healthy development of children and youth. Ottawa: Health Canada
7 Pepler, D. & Craig, W. (2000, April). Making a difference in bullying (Report #60). Ontario: LaMarch Centre for Research on Violence and Conflict Resolution and Queen's University.
8 National Resource Center for Safe Schools. (1999, Winter). Mixing age groups reduces bullying. Fact Sheet Number 4. Retrieved August 20, 2001 from http://www.safetyzone.org/publications/fact4_article2.html
9 Voices for Children. (2002). Bullying. Fact Sheet #15. Retrieved July 8, 2001 from http://www.voices4children.org/factsheet/factsheet15.htm
10 Pepler, D. & Craig, W. (1999, Spring). What should we do about bullying? Research into practice. Peacebuilder Magazine For Educators, 2. Retrieved February 20, 2001 from http://www.nier.ca/peace/educator/default.asp
