Bullying+Awareness

All students deserve the right to be able to learn and develop in safe and supportive environment. With the commonality of bullying in today’s society, this right is placed at risk. Student wellbeing and safety are essential for academic development. Student's with a disability may also potentially be at risk of being bullied due to them being viewed as different to other mainstream students.

Bullying is when people repeatedly and intentionally use words or actions against someone or a group of people to cause distress and risk to their wellbeing. These actions are usually done by people who have more influence or power over someone else, or who want to make someone else feel less powerful or helpless. Bullying is not the same as conflict between people (like having a fight) or disliking someone, even though people might bully each other because of conflict or dislike (Reach Out Australia 2011, para 1).
 * __What is bullying?__**


 * __How does bullying affect children?__**
 * Bullying affects everyone in different ways. But there are common feelings that come up when you are being bullied.
 * Feeling guilty like it is your fault
 * Feeling hopeless and stuck like you can’t get out of the situation
 * Feeling alone, like there is no one to help you
 * Feeling like you don’t fit in with the cool group
 * Feeling depressed and rejected by your friends and other groups of people
 * Feeling unsafe and afraid
 * Feeling confused and stressed out wondering what to do and why this is happening to you
 * Feeling ashamed that this is happening to you (Reach Out Australia 2011, para 7).

Here are some interesting stats about bullying –


 * One student in every four in Australian schools is affected by bullying, says recent research commissioned by the Federal Government.
 * An estimated 200 million children and youth around the world are being bullied by their peers, according to the 2007 Kandersteg Declaration Against Bullying in Children and Youth.
 * Kids who are bullied are three times more likely to show depressive symptoms, says the Centre for Adolescent Health.
 * Children who were bullied were up to nine times more likely to have suicidal thoughts, say some studies.
 * Girls who were victims of bullying in their early primary school years were more likely to remain victims as they got older, according to British research.
 * Children who were frequently bullied by their peers were more likely to develop psychotic symptoms in their early adolescence, says more UK research.
 * Girls were much more likely than boys to be victims of both cyber and traditional bullying, says a recent Murdoch Children's Research Institute study.
 * Children as young as three can become victims of bullying, says Canadian research.
 * Young people who bully have a one in four chance of having a criminal record by the age of 30.
 * Bullying is the fourth most common reason young people seek help from children's help services (Baker n.d.).

The Australian Government has put into place a National Safe School Framework to ensure a national approach was taken to establishing safer school communities.

The following link contains valuable information and resources for teachers to adopt safe and supportive environments in their schools and classrooms to ensure students have the greatest possible opportunity to achieve academic development. There are a number of strategies that can be put into place to reduce bullying and raise awareness of its effects. These strategies can be successfully utilised for children of all ages.

[|Australian National Safe Schools Framework]

Reference List:

Baker, F. n.d., Facts and figures about bullying, Kidspot, Melbourne, viewed 26 July 2011, []

Reach Out Australia 2011, What is Bullying?, Reach Out Australia, viewed 26 July 2011, []