BULLYING Editorial
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BARNARDOS CHILDLINKS ISSUE 1, 2013 BULLYING Editorial Bullying has been a Cyberbullying is an extension of tell whether this renewed focus on problem for children traditional bullying. Most young people bullying in schools will make a who are cyberbullied also experience difference. for many years. Recent traditional forms of bullying. Bullying In the context of the early childhood research has shown that it is harmful to both victims and care and education (ECCE) sector, perpetrators and should always be continues to be a major bullying does not receive much taken seriously. concern for children. attention. At the time of writing this The Growing Up in Ireland Sadly, bullying tends to hit the editorial, discussion is focusing on headlines linked to very sad cases the aftermath of the RTÉ Breach of study found that 40% of of child and youth suicide. This Trust investigation. That programme children aged 9 reported generally results in a flurry of media featured children being bullied by being victims of bullying in interest and promises by politicians. early years staff whose role should the previous year. The EU More recently there have been some have been to nurture and care for significant initiatives taken in response them. The ECCE sector needs to Kids Online study reported to media attention and public pressure. give attention to bullying as a potential that 23% of children in The Ombudsman for Children’s issue, which may involve children, Ireland aged 9 to 16 Office consulted with children and but also staff as perpetrators. The years have experienced published a report, Dealing with focus needs to be on anti-bullying Bullying in Schools. The Department policy and procedures, prevention some form of bullying, of Education and Skills convened an and best practice. Children in our both online and offline. Anti-Bullying forum in 2012 and care deserve no less. published an Action Plan on Bullying in January 2013. Time will ANNE CONROY 1 BULLYING CHILDLINKS ISSUE 1, 2013 BARNARDOS bullying of young people in Ireland what we know and what we can do PROFESSOR MONA O’MOORE, Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre, Trinity College, Dublin WHAT WE KNOW Bullying is a top concern for children worldwide. Time and time again, Bullying creates stress when surveyed about their concerns, children will tend to place bullying at and if it continues over a the top of their list. Most recently we learned, for example, that Comhairle na nÓg, the child and youth councils in the Irish State’s 34 local authority period of time there is a areas, called for a phone app which could be a survival guide for teens high risk that it will result and which would direct them to the best services (McMahon, 2013). in an erosion of confidence Impact of Bullying (Traditional and Cyber) Our children have good cause to be fearful of bullying. To be bullied, and self esteem. Other whether by traditional or cyber methods, can have serious implications for frequent symptoms are a child’s health and education. Bullying creates stress and if it continues over a period of time there is a high risk that it will result in an erosion of raised anxiety, fear, confidence and self esteem. Other frequent symptoms are raised anxiety, loneliness, reluctance to fear, loneliness, reluctance to go to school, isolation, educational underperformance and depression (Boulton et al, 2008). Self-harming and go to school, isolation, suicidal behaviours, while rare, are also expressions of the deep despair educational under- which so commonly results from being bullied (McMahon et al, 2010). The recent and tragic deaths by suicide of Phoebe Prince, Erin Gallagher, performance and Ciara Pugsley and Lara Burns, all of school going age, are a testimony to depression 2 BARNARDOS CHILDLINKS ISSUE 1, 2013 BULLYING this. These young people and indeed our former TD Shane take longer to uncover who the aggressor might be than it Mc Entee have highlighted, more than ever before, the would with direct bullying. destructive power of bullying and, most poignantly, that Relational and social bullying can be both direct and indirect. bullying is not just a schoolyard phenomenon. Rather it has This form of bullying sets out to manipulate and damage a its roots in society and there are no boundaries of age, child’s reputation and/or relationships by ignoring, excluding, gender, education and socio-economic factors. isolating, passing notes or spreading false information and It may be tempting to associate the above suicidal behaviours malicious rumours. to the emerging scourge of cyberbullying but the interaction Cyberbullying, in contrast to the above traditional forms of of cyberbullying and traditional bullying is not to be bullying, is any negative behaviour which, with the help of the underestimated. Research undertaken in Ireland shows that internet, phones or other technologies, conveys hostile, cyberbullying is an extension of traditional bullying. As many threatening and hurtful messages. Behaviours can range as 71% of cyber victims were also traditional victims while from severe threats to posting embarrassing photographs. well over a quarter (28.9%) admitted to being traditional One in five Irish children aged 11 to 16 have seen, for bullies as well. Over two-thirds (67%) of young people who example, sexual images and over one in ten have received reported that they were cyberbullies were also traditional sexual messages online, commonly known as sexting (O’Neill bullies as well. Almost one third of the cyberbullies (32%) et al, 2011). said they were also traditional victims (O’Moore, 2012). Being both cyber and traditionally bullied increases the risk of It is of note that while traditional bullying tends to defined by depression and loneliness (Gradinger et al, 2009) and suicide (Le its repeated nature, this is not necessarily the case for Blanc, 2012). The latter study reported that 78% of teens who cyberbullying. This is because one cyber-attack has the committed suicide were bullied both at school and online, and potential to reach large audiences and to stay out in only 17% were subjected to online bullying only. cyberspace indefinitely, thus constituting repetition. The depths of despair which bullied children so often reach Much bullying is identity or prejudiced based (O’Higgins et al, and have to bear on their own owes much to an incomplete 2010) with, for example, 71% of lesbian, gay, bisexual or understanding of bullying among society as a whole. In transgendered young people having been bullied about their addition, a lack of skills to intervene together with an sexuality (Minton et al, 2008). inadequate sense of responsibility to support those who are The Government’s recent and welcome Plan of Action on bullied results in too many of our young people having to Bullying (Dept of Education and Skills [DES], 2013) recommends suffer the ill effects of bullying in silence. that the definition of bullying in the new and forthcoming national procedures for schools includes a specific reference to identity based bullying (i.e. homophobic, transphobic and WHAT IS BULLYING AND WHAT FORMS DOES IT racist bullying and bullying of young people with disabilities or TAKE AMONG OUR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE special educational needs). The Plan also correctly points out that Bullying is, as recognised by our Department of Education ‘bullying should be considered as part of a continuum of behaviour and Skills 1993 Guidelines, ‘repeated aggression that can rather than a stand alone issue and in some cases behaviour be verbal, physical and psychological conducted by an individual may escalate beyond what can be described as bullying to or a group against others’. It is not about high spirited verbal serious physical or sexual assault and harassment’ (p.28). and physical games but rather it involves a very deliberate act on the part of the aggressor to cause the targeted child or teen to feel upset and hurt, for example, by humiliating, ridiculing, THE PREVALENCE OF BULLYING IN OUR intimidating or threatening them. YOUNG PEOPLE The systematic and ongoing negative attacks can be conveyed The State of the Nation’s 2012 Report on Children reported either directly or indirectly. The more common forms of direct that 24.3% of children aged 10-17 reported having been bullying are verbal attacks, physical aggression or assaults, bullied at school at least once in the past couple of months in gestures and extortion. Common forms of indirect bullying 2010 (Dept of Children and Youth Affairs [DCYA], 2012). Traveller are the circulation of nasty notes, the writing of offensive children, immigrant children and children with a disability graffiti and damage to personal property. Due to the more and/or chronic illness were more likely to be bullied. A rate of concealed and secretive nature of indirect bullying, it may 21.5% was found for the same age group 16 years ago 3 BULLYING CHILDLINKS ISSUE 1, 2013 BARNARDOS (O’Moore et al, 1997) which suggests that we have had an For a school policy to be increase in the level of victimisation. However, it is possible that the greater awareness of bullying which has undoubtedly effective it must send out taken place during the intervening years due to efforts from a strong message to all its individual schools may have given rise to a greater readiness to report it. However, with the rate of 40% of nine year olds members that bullying is in 2008 (Williams et al, 2008) and 42% of adolescents unacceptable behaviour and reporting bullying in 2010 (Dooley and Fitzgerald, 2012) together with 18.3% (23.6% girls and 15.7% boys) involved in that it will not be tolerated. cyberbullying (O’Moore, 2012), this indicates that there can be no room for complacency in tackling bullying in all its forms.