The National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center estimates that over 5.7 million or 30% of the adolescent population in the United States are involved in bullying.  Their involvement includes being the bully, being the target of a bully, or, in some cases, both. 

 

 What is Bullying?

According to a New Jersey  Law, which was adopted in 2002 bullying is defined as:

      "Harassment, intimidation or bullying" means any gesture or written, verbal or physical act that is reasonably perceived as being motivated either by any actual or perceived characteristic, such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or a mental, physical or sensory handicap, or by any other distinguishing characteristic, that takes place on school property, at any school-sponsored function or on a school bus and that:

     a. a reasonable person should know, under the circumstances, will have the effect of harming a student or damaging the student's property, or placing a student in reasonable fear of harm to his person or damage to his property; or

    b. has the effect of insulting or demeaning any student or group of students in such a way as to cause substantial disruption in, or substantial interference with, the orderly operation of the school."

 

Types of a Bullying:

  •  Physical Bullying: hitting, kicking, biting, pushing, pinching, choking, punching
  • Verbal Bullying: threatening, hurtful gossip, taunting, teasing, starting rumors, hate speech.
  • Exclusion from Activities: Children systematically excluding others from activites. 
  • Cyberbullying: Bullying that occurs with the use of Internet, phones, and other electronic technologies.

For more information on the types of Bullying click here.

How to Create a World Without Bullying

 Here are some suggestions to help foster an anti-bullying school environment:

  • Training for faculty and staff
  • Increase adult supervision  when bullying is more likely to occur
  • Student-Faculty Anti-Bullying Program
  • Administration needs to provide the school with a set of anti-bullying rules
  • Anti-Bullying Assemblies

For more information on the prevention of bullying in you school click here.