Bullying

Bullying comes in many forms. From verbal, physical to emotional, the recipient of this abuse is made to feel vulnerable, weak and afraid. It usually involves repeated acts of abuse over time in an attempt to enforce an imbalance of power over another and it is often strategic. Most bullying occurs in the school environment, starting from as early as kindergarten. Unfortunately, bullying does not dissolve with age. It carries on into high school and can take a toll on an individual’s self-esteem and confidence for the rest of their life. The aftermath of bullying differs from person to person, and can range from one extreme to another. The side effects of bullying are indeed harmful, there is no denying that, but to what extent and to what degree is the question that needs to be answered. This research paper will focus heavily on bullying that occurs amongst children and teenagers in their school environment. I will discuss the different forms of bullying and how often it occurs, the traumatizing effects bullying can have on a victim, and a communication strategy to help aid and shed more light on this issue.   ** How Often Does Bullying Occur? **  The Honorable Marvin A. ZUKER, Ontario Court of Justice defines bullying in his paper regarding // Bullying, School Violence and Youth Crime // as “the tendency for some children to frequently oppress, harass or intimidate other children, verbally, physically or both, in and out of school” with repeated and systematic harassment and attacks on others. The occurrence of this type of abuse happens more frequently than many like to believe. A 2004 study conducted by the Government of Alberta found that bullying occurs once every seven minutes on the playground and once every 25 minutes in the classroom. It also showed that about one in seven Canadian children aged 11 to 16 are victims of bullying. According to an international study done for // Health Canada (1999) // found that 56% of boys and 40% of girls in grades 6 and 8 admitted that they had bullied someone that year; 43% of boys and 35% of girls said they had been targets of bullying.    Another study conducted by the University of British Columbia reveals just how common bullying is in schools. Using a sample group based on 490 students (half female, half male) in Grades 8-10, the study showed staggering results. 64 % of kids admitted they have been victims to bullies at school while 12 % said it occurred on a regular basis (once or more a week). Perhaps the most shocking finding from this study is that 64% of students considered bullying a normal part of school life and felt it was not a serious matter. The internet has also become a gold mine for bullies to attack their victims. The term to describe this type is abuse is called Cyber bullying and it refers to the use of communication technologies to physically threaten, verbally harass or socially exclude an individual or group. Students use popular social networking sites such as Facebook, and MySpace to harass and abuse their victims. A poll released by the Canadian Teachers Federation in 2008 revealed that more than one third of Canadians know of a kid who has been bullied online in the last year and 20% knew of a teacher who had been cyber bullied.  A national survey done by Kids Help Phone between Dec. 20, 2006, and Jan. 20, 2007 revealed prevalent findings. More than 70 per cent of teens between the ages of 13 to 15 reported that they have been bullied online, while 44 per cent said they have bullied someone online. The report says 76 per cent of respondents reported being called names and being made to feel bad, while 52 per cent reported having rumors spread about them and 38 per cent reported being threatened or scared. Of the methods used, 77 per cent reported being bullied by instant messaging, 37 per cent by e-mail and 31 per cent on social networking sites, such as MySpace and Facebook.Cyber bullying is a growing epidemic throughout Canadian schools and is very hard to discipline because of the anonymity of the internet.                 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> The experience of being bullied can end up causing lasting damage to the victims. This is both self-evident, and also supported by an increasing body of research. Studies found that victimized children are at risk for a variety of negative outcomes: They are more anxious and insecure (Olweus, 1991); have lower self-esteem (Craig, 1998), are lonely, (Boulton & Underwood, 1992), are more likely to be rejected by their peers, and are depressed (Craig, 1998) than non-victimized children. Some short term effects Victims of bullying may experience are anger, depression, anxious avoidance of school, and lower grades. Long term effects may include reduced occupational opportunities, lingering feelings of anger and bitterness, desire for revenge, difficulty trusting people, and self-esteem issues. <span style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 200%;">As we are starting to witness more these days, the effects of bullying are far reaching and can sometimes end in extremely tragic circumstances. According to a study done by Yale University, Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims and that at least half of suicides among young people are related to bullying. An example of this is the tragic suicide of Pheobe Prince, who committed suicide at the tender age of 15 after an onslaught of cyber-bullying from fellow students. <span style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"> Discussion <span style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 200%;">The study conducted by the University of Alberta sheds light on how often bullying occurs in the school environment. With findings that reveal that bullying occurs once every seven minutes on the playground and once every 25 minutes in the classroom, it raises the question of why this is being able to occur so often. Bullies are usually outnumbered, but when bystanders choose to turn the other way and allow for the bullying to occur, they enable the aggressor, giving them more power. The survey done by Kids Help Phone showed that <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 200%;">72 percent of teens have observed bullying at school at least once in a while and <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 200%;">in the majority of cases, bullying stops within 10 seconds when peers intervene, or do not support the bullying behavior. When fellow students object to that kind of behavior, it changes the whole dynamic of the situation. The bully will then feel outnumbered and feel inferior. <span style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 200%;">With the immense popularity of the internet amongst teens, the statistics show a staggering rise in cyber bullying throughout the years. Cyber bullies no longer have to be physically present to harm their victims, they can log onto popular social networking sites and spew gossip and hate in a matter of seconds to millions of people. This is a critical issue because the victims have no way to escape their aggressors to seek solace and isolation. Also, bullies do not need to identify who they are on the internet to bully their target, they can hide behind anonymity. Even when the victim speaks up about cyber bullying, the school’s hands are often tied. Unless it crosses the line into death threats or other criminal offences or there is clear evidence the material is being sent from a school computer, the school may not have grounds to prosecute the aggressor. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> The correlation between suicide and bullying brings forth findings that need to be taken seriously. Bully victims who are 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide, and girls aged 10-14 may be at an even higher risk according to the study done by Yale University. The study shows that teens are most vulnerable to bullying during transitions from elementary to high school. Teens resorting to suicide shed light on the lack of proactive prevention on suicide. Those who choose this route feel as though their situation will not improve and the only way to escape their pain is to take their own life. They should not have to feel as though they have they have exhausted all their options, bullying should not be tolerated in the school environment. <span style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">** <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 200%;">Conclusion ** <span style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> Bullying has definitely evolved over time. With the popularity of the internet, the bully has been given another highway to antagonize their victims leaving them feeling cornered and alone. In order to help prevent bullying, I have come up with a few different strategic approaches to help aid the fight against bullying in schools. Anti-bullying material can be incorporated into the school curriculum. Schools can ask students to sign a pledge that states that they will not participate in bullying like behaviour. School officials can also set up self-esteem workshops and seminars for all students as a way to build up confidence and togetherness. Another way to spread the message across is to use the very tool that enabled bullies to torment their victims with a click of a mouse; the internet. With the use of popular networking sites such as Facebook, twitter and MySpace, the anti-bullying message can be spread worldwide. We cannot eliminate bullying overnight, but a collective and practical approach can help in the fight. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> ** <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Works Cited **
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 200%;">Introduction **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 200%;">

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Boulton, M. J. &Underwood, K.. (1992). Bully/victim problems among middle school children. // British Journal of Educational Psychology //, 62, 73-87. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Boulton, M. J. &Underwood, K.. (1992). Bully/victim problems among middle school children. // British Journal of Educational Psychology //, 62, 73-87. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">

//‘’Bullying and Victimization Among Canadian School Children.//’’Health Resources and Skills Development Canada. Web. Feb 28 2011. //‘’Bullying, School Violence and Youth Crime//.’’ Honorable Marvin A.Zuker, Ontario Court of Justice. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Canadian Children's Rights Council. Virtual Library, Resource Centre, Archives and Advocacy. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> Web. 26 Feb 2011.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Craig, W. (1998). The relationship among aggression types, depression, and anxiety in bullies, victims, and bully/victims. //Personality and Individual Differences//, 24, 123-130. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Olweus, D. (1991). Bully/victim problems among school children. //The development and// // treatment of childhood aggression //, (pp.411-438). Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> // ''Teachers against Cyberbullying,”  // Education International. Web. 26 Feb 2011.

// <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">‘’What is Bullying?’’ //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> Government of Alberta. Web. 28 Feb 2011. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">