How to Combat Bullying in your School

Over a quarter of students between the ages 12 to 18 are bullied at school. So every fourth kid you encounter is a victim of very serious abuse. As a leader in your school, what can you do to end the torment for the victims as well as prevent other students from becoming offenders?

Below is a guide to help you combat bullying in your school:

1. Know what bullying is.

Bullying is preying upon the weak due to physical or social advantage. It can take many forms:

• Verbal bullying—teasing, name-calling, sarcasm, threatening.
• Physical bullying —shoving, hitting, chasing, touching private parts, destroying belongings.
• Social bullying —spreading rumors, deliberately leaving someone out of a group or activity leading to isolation.
• Cyber bullying —harassing, intimidating or mocking someone using the internet or text messages.

2. Be observant.

Since bullying is a covert activity, it is difficult for the school administrators to observe it first-hand. However, it’s important to keep an eye on the lunch room, the washrooms and the playground because these are the typical hotspots for bullying to take place.

3. Teach kids to treat each other with respect.

Teaching kids to treat each other well can take many forms. To begin with, children are like mirrors, they reflect the behaviors of those around them – you included. Be a good role model by practicing respect, compassion and empathy towards students. You can inspire and maintain culture of respect and inclusion.

Another strategy that could benefit is by creating classroom activities around the harmful impacts of bullying both on the victims as well as the offenders. You can play documentaries that show how serious the consequences of bullying can be and have students share their takeaways with the class.

4. Develop a plan.

Meet with fellow school administrators and teachers and come up with school-wide policies regarding bullying. Establish consequences that can lead to immediate intervention as well provide consistency in how bullies are disciplined. Ensure that you take action each time bullying is observed or reported because research indicates that no action can be interpreted as being okay with the offence. Moreover, the rate of bullying decreases significantly when staff members are able to identifying episodes of bullying and prompt take action.

5. Get parents involved.

Educate parents by providing learning material regarding bullying. Kids generally don’t ask for help when they’re going through such a crisis. Parents must be able to recognize the warning signs of their child being involved in bullying, whether they’re the victims or the offenders. Parents must also keep the line of communication open with their kids so that it becomes easier for kids to pour their heart out about the problems they face in school.

6. Assign student volunteers to be there for victims

Allow mature and compassionate students to volunteer to be the go-to persons for victims of bullying as part of a school safety committee. Oftentimes, kids are able to relate better with those in their age groups and therefore able to open up with them. These volunteers can help with the reporting process, provide counselling and simply listen to the victims’ account. This sort of grassroots effort can help to de-escalate the degree of abuse and violence by empowering the victims as well as by discouraging behaviors that amount to bullying. Volunteers can greatly benefit from this experience too because they learn valuable skills related to conflict resolution.