Tag: bullying

Sexting is normal for children: study [SBS.COM.AU, by AAP, 15/10/2014 ].

Children now see “sexting” as part of normal life with girls more likely to provide sexually explicit pictures of themselves through social media Smartphone apps, according to an anti-bullying report.

Instances of abuse and sexting, where explicit texts and pictures are sent between smartphone devices, are on the rise and are having a serious detrimental effect on the health and wellbeing of young people, English charity Ditch the Label has claimed.

The British anti-bullying organisation surveyed 2732 people aged between 13 and 25 and had published the findings in its Wireless Report.

The survey revealed that 62 per cent of young people had been abused through a Smartphone app, while 37 per cent had sent a naked photo of themselves and 24 per cent had seen that image shared without their consent.

Girls were twice as likely to send a naked photo to someone than boys, the report said.

While 49 per cent of those questioned said they believed sexting was just a bit of harmless fun and 16 per cent said it was “the normal thing to do”, 13 per cent of young people claimed they had felt pressurised into sending explicit pictures.

Chloe, 17, who did not want to give her surname for fear of reprisals, said she fell into a deep depression after sending a naked photo of herself to a boy she trusted, only to find he had uploaded it to Facebook.

The teenager was being bullied at school three years ago and thought that by becoming friends with the boy the bullying would stop.

She claims he spent three or four months asking for her to send him a naked “selfie” and that she eventually relented under the pressure.

The next day she saw the picture had been uploaded to Facebook and many pupils at her school had seen it.

“He said it served me right. It had a lot of repercussions for me and I fell into a severe depression.

“I tried to commit suicide a few times. It was really tough.

“I didn’t let my dad know because it would have broken his heart. My mum was angry with me but there was nothing she could do but support me.”

Chloe said she contacted Facebook but it took at least two days for the image to come down, by which time the damage had already been done.

The Facebook website says it does not tolerate bullying or harassment and that it has “a strict policy against the sharing of pornographic content and any explicitly sexual content where a minor is involved”.

It claims it also imposes limitations on the display of nudity.

Ditch the Label also looked at the most popular apps used by young people on Smartphones.

Snapchat – an instant photo sharing platform with images being “deleted” after 10 seconds, came top, followed by Instagram, Skype, Kik Messenger – a free anonymous instant messaging app, and Whatsapp, according to the charity.

The survey also revealed that 62 per cent of young people had been sent nasty private messages through Smartphone apps and that 52 per cent had never reported the abuse they received.

A further 26 per cent said they felt like their complaint was not taken seriously when they reported it, the survey said.

Almost half of those who had suffered abuse through a Smartphone app said they had experienced a loss of confidence, while 22 per cent turned to self-harming as a coping mechanism and 22 per cent tried to change their appearance to avoid further abuse.

Claire Lilley, head of Child Online Safety at the NSPCC said: “Sadly many children now see sexting as part of normal life with girls constantly being pestered to provide sexual pictures of themselves.

“It may seem harmless fun but it can often have a devastating end with images that were never intended to be shared being circulated to a massive audience.”

What Causes Your Child to Become a Bully? [Huffington Post, by Dr. Gail Gross, 14/10/2014 ].

You race to the school, a million scenarios flashing through your brain. Is your child hurt? Was your child bullied?

Then you arrive at the school to learn that your child was involved with the one scenario you never imagined in your head as a parent: your child, it turns out, has been bullying other children at school.

Your child is the bully.

You didn’t see it coming. What should you do?

What causes a child to become the bully?

While there is no one single profile of a child bully, in my years as a researcher and educator, I have witnessed a few different situations that describe the majority of child bullies:

1. Like Parent, Like Child
Children model what they see. If a child is bullied by his/her parent, or is being abused or treated in a disrespectful way at home, that child is likely to imitate this behavior at school. They are learning from their parent that this type of behavior is acceptable.

2. The Powerless Child
Sometimes, the child that bullies is the child who feels completely powerless at home. Perhaps this child is abused, or watches one of his parents abuse another parent and he/she is left feeling scared and powerless at home. This child may attempt to gain back power by bullying others at school.

3. The Forgotten Child
I have seen children who feel invisible at home act out as bullies at school. Children need constant love and respectful attention from the adults who care for them — and they want and need it most from their mother and father. Nobody is more important than mom and dad; children will try to gain approval from mom and dad, from the time they are born until the time they die. If they do not get love and attention at home, they may feel voiceless and un-important. That feeling of invisibility may turn into anger, resentment and then bullying others at school.

4. The Entitled Child
Then there is the child who has been given too much power. I have seen children who are given everything they want, raised without limitations and rules to follow, who then grow up to feel entitled and all-powerful. These children may believe they have a right to bully others at school, since they bulldoze their parents at home.

5. Children Who Lack Empathy
Finally, there are those children who come from wonderful, loving homes with actively involved parents who become bullies. These child bullies may simply lack empathy, like to dominate, are possessive and want power. The wonderful thing about this is that empathy is something that can be taught.

Children Who Bully Are Still Children
It is important to remember that children who bully are still children. They are acting that way for a reason, and they, too, need help and guidance from adults. In my experience, bullies may not have healthy social behaviors, empathy, or coping skills. This has the potential to lead to a lifetime of relationship problems, general parenting problems, and even problems with the law.

Dulux seeks law firm’s help over employee bullying claims [Herald Sun, by John Dagge, 01/09/2014]

DULUXGROUP has hired a legal firm to investigate allegations of long-term workplace bullying in one of its key business units.

Australia’s largest paint maker has hired M+K Lawyers to investigate complaints from several employees that they were bullied by a senior manager based at the company’s Melbourne headquarters.

The claims, lodged at separate times, extend back some three years and the external investigation was ordered after the issue was brought to the board’s attention by an employee, BusinessDaily understands.

Some employees who lodged complaints have since left the company.

The manager accused of bullying works in a division that makes specialised products.

That division, which employees about 55 people, has experienced far higher staff turnover than other Dulux business with a number of senior sales representatives leaving the company amid claims of bullying, BusinessDaily has been told.

It is also understands complaints were lodged with the Dulux human resources department.

M+K Lawyers specialise in commercial law for mid-tier companies.

Dulux corporate affairs manager Lisa Walters said while it was not appropriate to comment on individual cases, the company did not tolerate bullying.

“On successive anonymous employee surveys DuluxGroup has ranked among the highest-performing companies globally in terms of the care and concern it shows for employees, and providing a workplace where people feel respected,” she said in a statement.

Dulux declined to respond to more detailed questions on the matter.

Earlier this year, the company reported an 88 per cent jump in net profit to $60 million for the six months to March, up from $32 million a year earlier.

Dulux has been listed on the Australian Stock Exchange since July 2010, when it was spun out of explosives and chemicals group Orica.

New School Year, Time for a Bullying Alert with NoBullying [PRWeb, 01/09/2014]

The new school year is upon us and for every parent a new school year could also mean brushing back in with school bullying. It is time for parents and educators to understand what bullying could lead to for children before it is too late, all with NoBullying´s guide to School bullying this year, released today.

It is first to be noted that bullying is not mere teasing or “kids’ play.” Especially if the child is new at school, bullies are, sadly, everywhere and they have various methods of bullying to intimidate and push down other children.

The bullies’ actions may start out as simple teasing, but over time verbal harassment can lead to physical harm. This alone can have severe consequences for both the bully and the target.

Even if it is verbal, bullying is an expression of violence in its purest form. Bullying can progress to being physical, thus harming the bully, the victim and the bystanders involved.

But what could the acts of bullying lead to? Bullying could often lead to a variety of symptoms and actions for the bully and the victim.

Children who are victims of bullying are inflicted by violence in a physical sense that is done subtly by the bully to escape punishment from teachers. Some children at school could face hitting, tripping, pushing, slapping, or even their belongings destroyed. If a child is coming home with unexplained injuries, damaged clothing or lost/damaged possessions or even any signs of stress, parents need to step in right away.

Those who are present when a bully is causing harm to his or her intended target may also be affected by what is witnessed. Bystanders may be affected by what they see or hear, which could have long lasting psychological consequences, even as adults. Children who witness the bullying of their friends are most likely to experiment with smoking, drugs, alcohol or delve into promiscuous activities, even leading in some cases to teenage pregnancy.

It may not seem directly related but bullying and acts of unkindness could have serious consequences on a child’s or teen’s ability to make correct decisions. They may delve into these things to get on the good side of the bully, including running away from home.

It is also to be highlighted that more than 3.2 million students fall victim to bullying every year and that one in four teachers do nothing because they see there is nothing wrong with bullying. This is a serious call for parents to take note of bullying in school and learn how to stand up to it properly.

Ciaran Connolly, Co-Founder of NoBullying.com, said, “With the new school year upon us, we need to keep fighting bullying in school. It takes the entire community to end bullying in school.”

He added that parents and teachers should make a point to educate the younger generations about the sad outcome of bullying online and offline. According to Connolly, it is quite imperative to press for more firm laws condemning all acts of bullying and harassment.

NoBullying.com features many pages dedicated to parents, teens, teachers, health professionals as well as posts related to cyber safety and the latest news about law making concerning curbing Bullying worldwide as well as inspirational Bullying Poems and famous Bullying Quotes.

The website regularly updates its bullying statistics and cyber bullying statistics as it is essential to understand how widespread the bullying epidemic is. It also regularly runs cyber bullying surveys and questionnaires to get recent updated statistics on everything related to cyberbullying.

He also added that anyone suffering from bullying in any form or way can always find advice and help on the NoBullying website – but if anyone is suffering from severe bullying or cyber bullying, the best thing is to talk to someone locally – a parent, teacher or local organization that has been set up to help with specialized councilors to deal with this topic.

Sexual Bullying, A Guide Released Today By NoBullying [PRWeb, 22/08/2014]

NoBullying releases today a complete guide to Sexual Bullying.

Recent research defines sexual bullying as “Any bullying behavior, whether physical or non-physical, that is based on a person’s sexuality or gender. It is when sexuality or gender is used as a weapon by boys or girls towards other boys or girls – although it is more commonly directed at girls. It can be carried out to a person’s face, behind their back or through the use of technology.”

The guide lists the methods of sexual bullying that include gossip, teasing, cyber bullying and attacks and intimidation.

Sex bullying can be more dangerous in nature because it is often “invisible” to those around. Sexual bullying leaves mental scars so physical injury and evidence of the bullying is not visible. However, it can often lead to sexual harassment and sexual assault.

The guide also explores the reasons behind sexual bullying such as improving social status at school, among groups and peers, jealousy and a desperate need for attention.

Self Harm stories also reveal that one of the underlying reasons for cutting is actually being a victim of sexual bullying or child abuse.

It is worth noting that a lot of cases of sexual bullying are related to feelings of low self esteem and inadequacy as well as the media influence on children growing up.

The effects of sexual bullying and the many ways it can occur are both devastating and often reside right below the surface of social interaction amongst teenagers. Parents that become aware of sexual bullying, whether in their own children or others, should make the teacher or other adult in charge of situations in the vicinity of where the bullying is occurring.

When it comes to disciplining children, it is essential for parents and educators to have an ongoing open line of communication with teens about their sexuality and how to express their sexual feelings and desires in the right channel instead of bullying an innocent victim as a proof of sexual maturity.

It is essential for parents to talk to children about their sexuality.

Ciaran Connolly, Co-Founder of NoBullying.com, said “Sexual bullying is a new trend rising out of several factors. It is essential for parents to talk to children about their sexuality. Caregivers need to be reminded of how the media is telling their children how to behave sexually instead of them.”

He added that parents and teachers should make a point to educate the younger generations about the sad outcome of bullying online and offline. According to Mulligan, it is quite imperative to press for more firm laws condemning all acts of bullying and harassment.

NoBullying.com features many pages dedicated to parents, teens, teachers, health professionals as well as posts related to cyber safety and the latest news about law making concerning curbing Bullying worldwide as well as inspirational Bullying Poems and famous Bullying Quotes.

The website regularly updates its bullying statistics and cyber bullying statistics as it is essential to understand how widespread the bullying epidemic is. It also regularly runs cyber bullying surveys and questionnaires to get recent updated statistics on everything related to cyberbullying.

He also added that anyone suffering from bullying in any form or way can always find advice and help on the NoBullying website – but if anyone is suffering from severe bullying or cyber bullying, the best thing is to talk to someone locally – a parent, teacher or local organization that has been set up to help with specialized councilors to deal with this topic.

Back to School: Tips for dealing with anxiety, online grades and bullying [ abc7 Chicago, by Dr. Tiffany Sanders, 20/08/2014 ]

BACK-TO-SCHOOL ANXIETY
Students often feel anxious when they return to school. They worry about grades, their looks, getting into the top school and whether their friends like them. Anxiety in school can be normal, however it can feel very uncomfortable.

Encourage your child/teen to share their worries.

Don’t negate the worries they have by saying, “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”

Problem solve to reduce and manage the worries. Preferably say things like, “Let’s think of some ways you could handle that situation.”

ONLINE GRADES: MORE ACCESS, MORE STRESS
With the advent of Power School, parents can regularly check online grades and attendance, which can assure completion of the work and a successful school year. However, parents and children can obsess over the data, which can increase anxiety in both parent and child.

Balance the amount of time you spend checking PowerSchool. Don’t excessively check grades 4 or 5 times a day. Understand that although it gives real time access, it may not be the most up to date.

Check with the teacher as to when the grades are likely to be recorded and reflected in Power School. If they are updated twice a week, let that be the day when you monitor the “grades.”

If you find out the child didn’t perform well on an assignment, don’t panic. Ask the child what made the test or assignment challenging, and then problem solve ways to do better in the future.

BULLYING
Most kids will experience some form of bullying at school. There are things parents can do to help bully-proof their child.
Don’t promote retaliation, but teach your kid using roll play, how to stand up to the bully with confidence and humor.

Teach your child how not to reward the bully with tears, frustration and anger. It will only reinforce to the bully how to taunt you.

Inform the child’s teacher or a school administrator about the bullying so they can monitor the situation and apply discipline as necessary.

Recent feedback from training provided to Northern Ireland Social work and Social care staff on Bullying, Cyber Bullying, Sexting and Self-Harm.

The following is some of the feedback we received after providing training on Bullying, Cyber Bullying, Sexting and Self-Harm to ‘Western Trust’, Northern Ireland Social work and Social care staff from CAMHS, ASD Team, Children’s Disability Programmes and open to other staff in family and childcare: Gateway, FIS, LAC, Adoption and Fostering, Residential, 16 Plus etc. ;

” Excellent facilitation. Very clear, concise and useful examples to illustrate points.”

“Very good training. The trainers were brilliant. Real life experience with a broad range of training with children/ adolescents”.

“Delivered and presented very well. Both trainers have a wealth of knowledge”.

“This training should be provided to education staff, parents, carers and foster carers”.

“Excellent passionate speakers who have lots of knowledge”.

“Excellent delivery of information. A lot of relevant information with discussion and examples from both trainers / others from the group”.

” Lovely relaxed style. Talking / listening dialogue. Having attended so much training over the years – I enjoy this style of informal, conversational best rather than ‘exercises’ “.

” Very informative. Very good delivery of material and information”.

” Very detailed presentation with lots of applicable examples. People were invited into the conversation freely. Very knowledgeable and applied it to the different professionals at the training”.

“Created more awareness for me around the signs and symptoms of cyber bullying”.

“I think it would be very helpful for other members of my team to attend this training”.

” Course would be very beneficial in our ‘Northern Schools’ and within team settings in work places”.

“Would encourage my local schools to invite ‘Bully 4u’ to speak to primary and secondary school pupils”.

” Extremely good – no jargon. Appropriate for all FIS staff “.

” Lots of useful tools to be used and shared, such as information on self-harm and bullying policies. Information continually interesting “.

” Relaxed, enjoyable and interesting, with a lot of little personal stories. Strongly suggest that team leaders and trainers attend this training – possibility of making it mandatory “.

” The training gave me more knowledge and tips how to communicate better with the young people. I will encourage staff to apply for this training and implement this into their work “.

” Very informative. Good information provided that can be applied to practise. Very interactive. Brilliant presentation and presenters “.

” Excellent. Easy to listen to, informal and interesting. Real life experiences very powerful. Found creative ideas very interesting. Would be useful for training to be delivered to parents and schools in N.I. “.

Facebook, Sky fight laws over internet regulation. [ Irish Examiner, by Juno McEnroe, 30/6/2014 ]

The firms are opposing any new laws for online safety and have made their views known in submissions to a government internet advisory group, the Irish Examiner has learned.

Last week, the internet Content Governance Advisory Group advised that limited legislative changes be made, despite recommendations by children’s rights advocates for new laws to block pornography and regulate internet service providers.

Facebook, in its submission, said it contacted gardaí where “child exploitation images” were found on users’ pages. It pledged to roll out an anti-bullying hub, launched in the US last year, in Ireland shortly.

It said it encouraged the Government to “consider adopting a multi-stakeholder model for co-ordination and dissemination of good practices, rather than enact new laws”.

Broadband provider Sky told the group: “Given the cross-border nature of the internet, and the volume of content provided from outside of Ireland, it is difficult to see how stringent regulatory rules on internet content can be effective.”

Its customers wanted to be responsible for what they and their children viewed, it said, and a combination of education and use of technical parental controls were best.

However, the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children said the lack of regulation of internet providers meant child abuse materials were “readily viewable” within Ireland.

Effective website filtering was done in China and by music companies trying to reduce piracy, it noted.

It said specific legislation was needed to tackle cyberbullying.

Nasc, the Irish Immigrant Support Centre, recommended stricter regulation to tackle online racism. Online racism was difficult to prosecute, it said, noting a case it had reported to the gardaí involving Facebook.

Gardaí were unclear how to handle online racism, it said, and new laws were needed to address online hate crimes.

Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte discussed the advisory group’s report with the Cabinet last week. The group said it had held off recommending strict measures, such as those adopted in Britain where internet providers will now have to adopt filtering blocks on adult websites and content.

The group recommended criminalising offensive online messages but held back proposing any large-scale legislative reform.

Mr Rabbitte said he and the group had approached the review in a co-operative way with the internet industry.

However, he said: “The industry don’t have a vested interest in abuse and misuse of the technology any more than we do.

“I think it would be difficult for the Government to take effective measures without the co-operation of the industry unless one is saying that you can decree and make law, but that kind of intrusion is running counter to the spirit of what we are trying to do here and would run counter to the fundamental cornerstone of the freedom of expression.”

Children exposed to violence more likely to be cyberbullies. [Irishexaminer, by Niall Murray, 21/05/14]

The report found that cyberbullying on its own may not be responsible for mental health problems or suicidal tendencies. It says there are likely to be a range of contributory factors in victims of cyberbullying who suffer with those issues.

Helen Gleeson, the report author, said positive peer and family relationships have been shown to help buffer the more negative impacts of involvement in cyberbullying. “In contrast, young people who experience violence, harsh discipline, or neglect are at an elevated risk of being involved as both bullies and victims,” Dr Gleeson wrote.

Her report for the Department of Education and the HSE’s National Office for Suicide Prevention was launched alongside the National Anti-Bullying Centre at Dublin City University. Its work, having moved last year from Trinity College Dublin, will include research on how bullying can be tackled in schools, online, and in the workplace.

Dr Gleeson found similar risk factors — poor peer relationships, emotional and behavioural difficulties, more unsupervised time online, and bullying others face-to-face — in young people most at risk of being cyberbullied as those involved in traditional bullying, either as victims or bullies.

“Most young people who are cyber-victimised are also often subject to traditional types of bullying. It is difficult to determine whether negative impacts result from cyber or traditional victimisation,” she wrote.

Cyberbullying has been directly linked to a number of cases in recent years in which teenagers have taken their own lives. Dr Gleeson’s report said experiencing it is most likely to be one of a complex range of factors that contribute to poor mental health and self-harm or suicidal ideation.

She cited 2009 research which found that almost one in four Irish children reported experiencing traditional bullying but only 4% experienced cyberbullying, although it rises to 10% for mid-adolescents.

The report said it is likely that entirely new programmes are not needed to tackle cyber-bullying because it appears to be closely tied to traditional bullying. It suggested that further research is needed on the effects of family interventions, and on the media’s role — as some research has found reporting to have a detrimental effect on attitudes and beliefs. Studies on peer support strategies are also recommended.

While many strategies are often recommended in previous research, some have been found to be more effective than others. Dr Gleeson found little evidence to show that technological strategies, such as keeping passwords private or greater use of reporting facilities on social media sites, are ultimately effective.

Education Minister Ruairi Quinn said most of the 12 actions recommended in his department’s bullying plan last year have now been implemented, including training sessions for parents organised through the national parents’ councils, the requirement on all 4,000 schools to have dedicated anti-bullying policies, and a number of other measures.

Dr Gleeson said developing coping strategies can help reduce the negative impacts of cyberbullying, and recommends parents talk openly with children about the issue and what to do if they encounter cyberbullying.

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Bully 4u agrees completely that young people who experience violence, harsh discipline, or neglect are at an elevated risk of being involved as both bullies and victims. Parents buying violent age inappropriate video games for children please take note. The report also found little evidence to show that technological strategies, such as keeping passwords private or greater use of reporting facilities on social media sites, are ultimately effective. Despite this Bully 4u would strongly encourage students to keep their passwords private and to report all cases of cyberbullying and abuse.

Cyber-bullying a risk factor in suicide: report. [independent.ie, by Katherine Donnelly, 21/05/14]

However, although cyber-bullying is a risk factor in suicide, where young people have attempted to take their own lives it is not the only reason. Attempted suicide occurs in conjunction with other risk factors, such as mental health difficulties and family problems, the report found.

The report provides an overview of existing research on the prevalence and impact of bullying linked to social media on the mental health and suicidal behaviour among school-aged children.

Author, Dr Helen Gleeson, who was commissioned by the Department of Education and the HSE National Office for Suicide Prevention, also looked at the most effective means of intervening in cases of cyber-bullying and ways to prevent it.

It was published at the launch of the new national Anti-Bullying Centre in Dublin City University (DCU), by Education Minister Ruairi Quinn and Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore. The centre has transferred from Trinity College where it was established 18 years ago.

Although Dr Gleeson found some inconsistencies in existing research, such as in the levels of cyber-bullying reported, there was also common ground.

Experience

Cyber-bullying is less prevalent than traditional forms of bullying, but most young people involved in cyber-bullying also tend to have experience of traditional bullying.

In Ireland, 24pc of children reported experiencing traditional bullying, while 4pc reported experiencing cyber-bullying, rising to 9pc-10pc for mid-adolescents.

Dr Gleeson found that most research suggests that the bullying experience is likely to exacerbate existing mental health difficulties, such as anxiety or depression, which, in turn, may increase the risk of harm of suicidal ideation.

She said experiencing cyberbullying was most likely to be one of a complex range of factors that contribute to poor mental health and self harm or suicide ideation among young people.

Girls are at greater risk of negative impacts of being cyberbullied, but may be more likely to seek support than boys.

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It’s widely reported in the media coverage of this report that 4% of students are cyber bullied, rising to 9-10% for mid adolescents. Research from the ABC found that a lot of young people don’t recognise that what is happening to them is cyberbullying. They see it as something that happens to others. Consequently they under report. Education needed to empower these students.