SECOND OPINION:Vague anti-bullying policies are clearly not working, writes JACKY JONES
ABOUT 850,000 children are going back to school next week and roughly 200,000 will be bullied at some stage. The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Study: International Report from the 2009/2010 Survey shows that 12 per cent of Irish 11 year olds, 8 per cent of 13 year olds, and 7 per cent of 15 year olds were bullied at least twice in the two months before the study was carried out.
One in every 20 children bullied others during the same time frame. Ireland is in 19th place among 38 countries for numbers of children being bullied, and sixth for children who bully others. Bullied children feel humiliated, lonely and fearful every day, and experience health problems such as depression and anxiety.
They lose self-esteem, underachieve at school and often drop out. Those who observe it are also badly affected.
Most bullying takes place in classrooms, playgrounds, corridors and changing areas. Bullying can involve physical aggression, damage to property, demands for money, exclusion and name-calling.
Some adults erroneously believe bullying is a normal phase of development, that it teaches children to toughen up and prepare for adult life. An ESRI 2007 study found that 7 per cent of Irish adults, nearly 130,000 people, experienced workplace bullying in the preceding six months.
Since 2005, bullying in Irish schools has increased in younger age groups and stayed the same in older age groups. Schools have had anti-bullying policies for many years but they are not working because the policies are vague about who is really responsible.
At worst, the bullied child is apportioned some of the blame, or at best, the responsibility is shared between the school, the parents and the pupils. The result is confusion, obfuscation and little effective action.
Parents need to know that the locus of responsibility for school bullying lies with the school authorities.
The Guidelines on Countering Bullying Behaviour in Primary and Post-Primary Schools, issued by the Department of Education in 1993, and still in use, have a distinct whiff of victim-blaming about them and mixed messages about responsibility.
On the one hand, the guidelines emphasise the school’s responsibility to provide a safe environment and, on the other, they blame the child being bullied. The “pupils who are most at risk of becoming victims are those who react in a vulnerable and distressed manner. The seriousness and duration of the bullying behaviour is directly related to the pupil’s continuing response to the verbal, physical or psychological aggression. It is of note that some pupils can unwittingly behave in a very provocative manner which attracts bullying behaviour.”
With guidelines like these it is no wonder schools have not succeeded in eliminating bullying. Try inserting “women” or “men” instead of “pupils” and read the paragraph again. Adults would strike if such a statement appeared in their workplace.
Children who are bullied have no responsibility for the behaviour of perpetrators. Parents who are worried about their child being bullied must be clear about the locus of responsibility so that they can approach the school authorities in the right frame of mind.
Two scenarios illustrate the point. Scenario 1 – Mrs Jones: “My child is being bullied by name(s).” Principal/teacher: “Tell me about it.” After such a bad start the conversation is likely to focus on the child being bullied and not on what the school intends to do about the perpetrator(s).
Parents are even offered “pastoral care” to supposedly make their bullied child less vulnerable. Shifting the locus of responsibility onto the parent and child is wrong. It increases bullying and victimisation since the message is “you can stop this if only you are more confident, less sensitive, a different person”. Scenario 2 – Mrs Jones: “My child is being bullied by names(s). What can you tell me about it?”
Principal/teacher: “I am aware of what is happening (or not) and this is what the school is doing (or not).”
In this scenario the parent puts the responsibility for bullying onto the school, which is where it belongs.
Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children (2011) is unequivocal about school authorities being responsible for dealing with bullying and notes “they should exercise that authority”. Solving bullying means school policies and practices reflect this imperative.
Dr Jacky Jones is a former regional health promotion manager with the HSE.