Although it may seem as though bullying is getting worse, the good news is that there is actually more being done about the issue than ever before. Case in point, in February 2000, a father and teacher from Alberta started the website www.bullying.org as a place for kids to connect and share their bullying experiences. In 2003, the site caught the attention of Family Channel and the two organizations partnered to declare national Bullying Awareness Week, thus challenging the conventional notion that childhood bullying is a normal part of growing up. Their message to kids: when you see someone being bullied, let them know they’re not alone.

This bystander message is at the centre of research conducted by Drs. Debra Pepler and Wendy Craig, scientific co-directors of a national coalition dedicated to stopping bullying called PREVNet. Their research confirmed that one of the most significant opportunities to reduce bullying is for bystanders to stand up for peers who are bullied, observing that playground bullying stops within 10 seconds 57% of the time when peer bystanders intervene and stand up for the individual being bullied.

The Bullying Awareness Week campaign enters its fifth year this November. Since its launch, the children’s broadcaster has developed public service announcements that show kids examples of how to deal with bullying, published a teachers guide to help facilitate classroom discussion and, last year, staged rallies in Ottawa, Winnipeg and Victoria at schools where proven efforts to stop bullying had taken place. The network also initiated a fundraising drive that gives kids a subtle way to show that they do not stand for bullying. With proceeds going to www.bullying.org, a canvas cuff bearing the stand up message was available through retail partner La Senza Girl and online at www.family.ca.

Just like global warming is a community problem, so, too, is bullying. And the time for communities to focus on solutions is Bullying Awareness Week. For its part, Family Channel is once again planning to host school rallies, produce a new public service announcement and continue its fundraising efforts.

The 5th annual national Bullying Awareness Week takes place November 19 to 25, 2007.

Credit: www.newscanada.com

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