BULLYING

Cyber- bullying

and

Definition

Bullying has two key components: repeated harmful acts and an imbalance of power.

It involves repeated physical, verbal or psychological attacks or intimidation directed against a victim who cannot properly defend him- or herself because of size or strength, or because the victim is outnumbered or less psychologically resilient.

Bullying includes assault, tripping, intimidation, rumor spreading and isolation, demands for money, destruction of property, theft of valued possessions, destruction of another’s work, and name-calling.

Bullying is widespread and perhaps the most underreported safety problem on American school campuses.

Bullying is now known to have long-lasting harmful effects, for both the victim and the bully and it also affects student’s sense of security

Bullying most often occurs where adult supervision is low or absent: schoolyards, cafeterias, bathrooms, hallways, and stairwells.

Studies indicate that boys are more likely to bully than girls.

Classroom bullying may have more to do with the classroom management techniques a teacher uses than with the number of adult supervisors in the room.

Done by someone with more power or social support to someone with less power or social support;

Often includes the abuser blaming the target for the abuse;

Often it leads to the target blaming him or herself for the abuse;

In most bullying situations, the target cannot stop the bullying by his or her own actions.

one incident of bullying every seven minutes;

adult intervention in 4% of incidents;

peer intervention in 11% of incidents

Victims of Bullying:

Physical Mental or Speech Difficulties

Eyeglasses Skin color Language Height Weight Hygiene Posture

Dress or Outfit Smaller or Weaker

Bullies

• Studies concur that bullies tend to be aggressive, dominant and slightly below average in intelligence and reading ability

• Bullies do not appear to have much empathy for their victims.

• Bullying occurs due to a combination of social interactions with parents, peers and teachers.

• Researchers have found higher bullying rates among boys whose parents use physical punishment or violence against them.

• Having friends, especially ones who will help protect against bullying, appears to reduce the chances of victimization.

Who bullies and

why?

Children and youth who bully are more likely to have friends who bully and who have positive attitudes toward violence.

There is no one single cause of bullying among children. Rather, individual, family, peer, school, and community factors can place a child or youth at risk for bullying his or her peers.

Characteristics of children who bully

Children who bully their peers regularly tend to : Be impulsive, hot-headed,

dominant; Be easily frustrated; Lack empathy; Have difficulty following

rules View violence in a positive

way. Boys who bully tend to be

physically stronger than other children.

Family risk factors for bullying

Children who bully are more likely than their nonbullying peers to live in homes where there is: A lack of warmth and

involvement on the part of parents;

Overly-permissive parenting (including a lack of limits for children’s behavior);

A lack of supervision by parents;

Harsh, physical discipline; and

A model for bullying behavior.

LGTB Bullying Statistics Nearly 1/4th of students from elementary school to high school

have reported that they have been harassed or bullied on school grounds because of their race, ethnicity, gender, religion, orientation, or disability-2001-2002 California Student Survey

6 out of 10 American teens witness bullying at least once a day.-National Crime prevention Council, 2003

Students hear anti-gay epithets 25 times a day, and teachers fail to respond to those comments 97% of the time.-Gay Lesbian Straight Educator’s Network

1 out of every 10 students who drop out of school does so because of repeated bullying.-Oklahoma Health Department, 2001

Harassment and bullying have been linked to 75% of school-shooting incidents.-US Secret Service Report, May 2002

LGTB Bullying Statistics continued

Harassment and bullying have been linked to 75% of school-shooting incidents.-US Secret Service Report, May 2002

Gay and lesbian youth ate 2 to 3 times more likely to commit suicide than other youths, and 30 % of all completed youth suicides are related to the issue of sexual identity-Report to the Secretary’s Task Force on Youth Suicide

More than 91% of LGTB students say they hear homophobic slurs or expressions frequently or often.-GLSEN 2003 National School Climate Survey

Nearly 58% of LGTB students have had property stolen or deliberately damaged at school.- GLSEN 2003 National School Climate Survey

More than 64% of LGBT students say they feel unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation. -GLSEN 2003 National School Climate Survey

Story of Tyler Clementi

He jumped of a bridge and killed himself from what his roommate did to him.

Roommate put a feed to the video he had recorded of his roommate with his boyfriend.

Racial Bullying

Hispanic youth reported bullying others only marginally more than white or black youth

Black youth reported being bullied significantly more than white or Hispanic youth.

Consequences of Bullying

Victims of bullying suffer consequences beyond embarrassment.

Victims experience psychological and / or physical distress, are frequently absent and cannot concentrate on schoolwork.

Victims have low self-esteem, and their victimization can lead to depression that can last for years

Researchers found that between five and ten percent of students stayed at home to avoid being bullied.

Boys and girls who were bullied at least once a week experience poor health, commit suicide, and suffer from depression, social dysfunction, anxiety, and insomnia.

Most students do not report bulling to adults.

Targets Special needs

Physical mental speech eye glasses

Children with LD are at greater risk of being teased and physically bullied

Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are more likely than other children to be bullied. They also are somewhat more likely than others to bully their peers

Children with medical conditions that affect their appearance (e.g., cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and spina bifida) are more likely to be victimized by peers. Frequently, these children report being called names related to their disabilityhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_

XRVwRFPKk&feature=related

Most students do not report bulling to adults.

Some of the reasons victims gave for not telling include: * Fear* Feeling shame at not being able to stand up for

themselves* Fearing they would not be believed* Not wanting to worry their parents* Having no confidence that anything would change as a

result* Thinking their parents’ or teacher’s advice would make

the problem worse* Fearing their teacher would tell the bully who told on him

or her* Thinking it was wore to be thought of as a snitch

Cyber-bullying – What is it?

Use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, intending to harm someone.

Cyber-bullying occurs through…

Email Text messaging Chat rooms Creation of websites Online voting booths

Cyber-bullying Victim Habits Closes windows on their

computer when you enter

room

Is secretive about Internet

activities

Is always doing homework

on the Internet, but always

in chat groups and getting

behind with school work

Won't say who they are

talking to

Lack of appetite, throwing

up

Fear of going out of the

house

o Lack of interest at social events that include other students

o Frequent visits to the school nurse or office complaining of feeling sick - wants to call Mom or Dad to come & get them

o Lowered self-esteem o A marked change in attitude,

dress or habitso Acting out aggression at

home o Missing or incomplete school

work, decreased success in class

o Trouble sleeping

Stats A study of 2,000 middle school students found that

cyber-bullying victims are twice as likely to attempt suicide.

Study from “Common Sense Media” found parents are often unaware of how social networking sites are used.

Girls are almost twice as likely to be threatened online

A national survey of 10-17 year olds found that twice as many children indicated they had been victims and perpetrators of online harassment in 2005 compared with 2000.

What can be done to stop this?

Introduce a cyber-bullying

education program in the schools Get more involved in students’ lives Be more observant Never give out any personal

information to strangers Don’t believe everything you read Don’t look at a message from

someone you don’t know

The first step is to identify unacceptable peer actions

. These include: Physical aggression:

hitting, kicking, pushing, choking, punching;

Verbal aggression: threatening, taunting, teasing, starting rumors, hate speech;

Exclusion from activities: This does not mean that a student should have to be friends with every other student; it does mean that children should not be allowed to systematically exclude others.

Strategies to Prevent Bullying

1. Identify and assess bullying .

2. Cultivate a positive social environment.

3. Train your students and staff.

4. Establish clear rules and consequences.

5. Increase adult supervision during “primetime”.

6. Counsel all parties.

7. Intervene consistently and appropriately.

8. Continue efforts over time.

Some practical knowledge

The Bullied The Bully The Observers of the Bullying

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKoUegW5cPE&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j6YA03hm4k&feature=related

Activity

Sources www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov http://www.bullysolutions.com/index.php/racial-b

ullying http://www.autostraddle.com/teenage-suicide-12

35/ http://www.zimbio.com/LGBT+Pride/articles/52/L

GBT+Bullying+Statistics www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov – U.S.

Department of Health and Human Resources and U.S. Department of Education

www.bullying.org – Parent advocacy group lead by Bill Belsey of Taber, Alberta Canada

Dr. Tamara Lombard,PHD – Cognitive Behavior, Interpersonal Psychologist