Are peers the strongest defense against bullying?

Bystanders are the people who see bullying happen, but do nothing to stop it. They may be the ones playing on the playground, getting something out of their locker in the hallway, or sitting across the cafeteria with their own group of friends. They may not be directly involved with the taunting and harassment of another student, but they see it happening.  Bystanders will usually tell you that they feel bad about the bullying they witness and how often they consider speaking up, however, something stops them.

There’s been a bit of press lately on how bystanders are just as guilty as the bullies, but this is a hard pill for me to swallow. I do feel that bystanders have a responsibility to speak up when they see someone being victimized, but ultimately, speaking up is a scary thing.  I think that if young people encouraged other young people to speak up, it could possibly be less of a daunting experience.

What do you think? Are peers the strongest defense against bullying? Personally, I think yes, but read the rest of the article to decide for yourself!

“In almost every tragic case of bullying, there are bystanders. They see the scuffles in the school hallway, and read the vicious stream of insults on Facebook, and look away, or log off. They are both the nervous audience for the bully, and the tear-stained faces in the school assembly when a student commits suicide and the grief counsellors step in.”

Interesting in learning more about the bystander phenomenon? Click here!

(0 Comments)

Hey, Guys!

Do you know Pixie Lott?  She’s a big popstar in the UK, as well as a fierce advocate for bullying.  Pixie joined forces with a UK-based organization called BeatBullying some time ago, and together they raise awareness for bullying and cultivate opportunities to make positive and lasting changes in the lives of individuals bullied (to find out more about BeatBullying, click here!).

The Sun, a UK-based paper, recently ran a story on Pixie’s dedication to not only BeatBullying, but the Big March, and bullying in general. In this article she also talks about the really neat avatars BeatBullying’s site uses to encourage young people to get involved without leaving their front doors.

It’s so nice to see someone in Pixie’s position using her fame in a positive way.  Click HERE to the article in The Sun on Pixie’s dedication to the cause.

If you’re interesting in finding out more about the Big March and how you guys can get involved, click HERE.  After you have clicked around and read up on the issue a bit, please leave your thoughts in the comments section below.  I would love to hear what you think!

picture source

(0 Comments)