Cyberbullying Harms Youth Mental Health
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Via Christi Women's Connection presentation on cyber bullying by Amy Seery, MD, Via Christi Clinic Family Medicine pediatrician.
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Cyberbullying Harms Youth Mental Health
- 1. Amy Seery MD Via Christi Family Medicine Residency September 2013
- 2. Is avoiding technology the answer? Is this really affecting my child? How does cyberbullying occur? Is cyberbullying really that harmful for anyone? What if my child is the victim? Or the bully?
- 6. Overt Physical (hitting, kicking, gym aggression, having personal items stolen) Verbal (name calling, mocking, teasing) Relational Social exclusion, spreading rumors Cyberbullying
- 7. "Cyberbullying" is when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones. Adult involvement is “cyber-harassment” or “cyber-stalking” Stopcyberbullying.org
- 8. Cyberbullying is different from “traditional” face-to-face aggression because of the anonymity of the mediums used. The distance between the perpetrator and the victim prevents the perpetrator from seeing the harmful consequences of their actions or to experience any sympathy/empathy for their victim.
- 12. Mean 24.4
- 13. Victims Bullies
- 15. October 2003 He was repeatedly sent instant messages from middle school classmates accusing him of being gay, and was "threatened, taunted and insulted incessantly" Bullying on the internet "amplified and accelerated the hurt and pain he was trying to deal with, that started in the real world". Growing Up Online (Chapter 6: "Cyberbullying"). [Television production]. Boston: PBS. January 22, 2008. Event occurs at 0:08:16–0:08:30. http://www.pbs.org/frontline/video/share.html?s=frol02n3b7q4e. Retrieved 2010-10-27.
- 16. October 2006 Witnesses testified that the women intended to use Meier’s e-mails with "Josh" to get information about her and later humiliate her, in retribution for her allegedly spreading gossip about Drew's daughter Steinhauer, Jennifer (November 26, 2008). "Verdict in MySpace Suicide Case". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/27/us/27myspace.html?_r=1&hp. Retrieved 2010-10-27.
- 17. July 2008 She had sent nude pictures of herself to a boyfriend.When they broke up, he sent them to other high school girls.The girls were harassing her, calling her a slut and a whore. She was miserable and depressed, afraid even to go to school. Celizic, Mike (March 6, 2009). “Her teen committed suicide over ‘sexing’". Today Parenting- MSNBC. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/29546030. Retrieved 2010-10-27.
- 18. April 2009 "There is name-calling, there is teasing, but I will tell you that it is almost always done outside the presence of adults.There is a code of silence among the students." Time Magazine. Bullying: Suicides Highlight a Schoolyard Problem By Paige Bowers Wednesday, May. 20, 2009
- 19. September 2010 The bullying took every form. "It was eye to eye, over the telephone, personal, over the Internet. He spent a lot of his life frightened." Time Magazine. The Bullying of Seth Walsh: Requiem for a Small-Town Boy By Bryan Alexander / Tehachapi Saturday, Oct. 02, 2010
- 20. September 2010 His roommate had secretly recorded a video of Clementi kissing a guy; the video went up onYouTube. On Facebook, Clementi offered a final status update: "jumping off gw bridge sorry." Jonathan Lemire, Michael J. Feeney And Larry Mcshane (1 October 2010). "He Wanted Roomie Out Rutgers Suicide Complained Of Video Voyeur Before Fatal Fall". Daily News (New York): p. 2. Retrieved 2010-10-27.
- 21. September 21st 2011- Freshman at NE High "We never even thought in a million years this would happen. It was a complete shock," Morawitz said. "We knew she was being bullied and that some crap was going on at school. . . .We tried to make the school aware of it.They knew what was going on, but they didn't do anything about it."
- 22. A continuum of cyberbullying: Ignored Disrespected Spreading Rumors Stalking Physical Threats
- 27. Minors involved = illegal Taken without consent = illegal Taken by the subject and handed over freely ≠illegal
- 35. Abuse alcohol and other drugs in adolescence and as adults. Get into fights, vandalize property, and drop out of school. Engage in early sexual activity. Have criminal convictions and traffic citations as adults. In one study, 60% of boys who bullied others in middle school had a criminal conviction by age 24. Be abusive toward their romantic partners, spouses or children as adults. Are more likely to-
- 36. Have increased use of tobacco, alcohol or other drugs. Have increased mental health problems, including depression and anxiety. Are more likely to miss or skip school.
- 37. Guilty 21% Powerful 9% Popular 6% Better than others 4% Mishna F, et al. Cyber Bullying Behaviors Among Middle and High School Students. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 2010. Vol 8, No 3, 362-374
- 38. Anger, revenge, frustration, jealousy Vengeance for the wronged friend Entertainment Boredom Ego booster Readily accessible Revenge of the Nerd- victim becomes the bully Impersonal nature of a screen
- 40. 58% have not told their parents or an adult about something mean or hurtful that happened to them online. Cyberbullying is rarely reported Fear of retaliation or worsening of the bullying A major barrier is fear of losing internet or phone privileges. Kowalski R, et al. Electronic bullying among middle school students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41, S22-S30. 2007. isafe.org
- 41. One of the most damaging effects is that a victim begins to avoid friends and activities, often the very intention of the cyberbully.
- 42. In general, peer harassment leads to: Hinduja S, et al. Bullying, Cyberbullying, and Suicide. Archives of Suicide Research. 14:206-221, 2010. • Depression • Decreased self- worth • Hopelessness • Loneliness • Lower GPA / Grad rates • Poor sleep patterns • Emotionally labile • Withdrawal • Avoidance of media • Lying • Poor health (up to 3 yr) • Use of violence in confrontations
- 44. CDC: suicide was the 2nd leading cause of death among 10-24 year olds in 2010. Even though suicide rates have decreased between 1990- 2000 among young people, there has been an upward trend in 10- to 20-year olds from 2000-2010. Baldry A, et al. Direct and vicarious victimization at school and at home as risk factors for suicidal cognition among Italian adolescents. Journal of Adolescence. 26(6). 703-716. 2003. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2007. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 56(35), 905-908.
- 45. Youth who are bullied are at an elevated risk for suicidal ideation, attempts, and completion of suicides. Among boys who were frequently bullied (at least once per week) 4% had severe suicidal ideation versus 1% in boys not bullied. In girls, of those bullied 8% had severe SI versus 1% in those not. Of those who bullied others at least once per week both boys and girls showed 8% increase of severe SI. Kaltiala-Heino R, et al. Bullying, depression, and suicidal ideation in Finnish adolescents: School Survey. British Medical Journal. 319(7206). 348-351. 1999.
- 46. Youth who experienced traditional bullying or cyberbullying, as either offender or victim, scored higher on suicidal ideation scales. Cyberbullying victimization was a stronger predictor of suicidal ideation than bullying or cyberbullying offending. Hinduja S, et al. Bullying, Cyberbullying, and Suicide. Archives of Suicide Research. 14:206-221, 2010.
- 48. Recognize the importance of online relationships for children and adolescents Counsel and demonstrate internet safety and responsibility Encourage efforts by schools and lawmakers Ask about your child’s screen time Talk about your child’s “online life” Talk about suicide with your child Encourage open communication between your child and their teachers, physician, and other trusted adults
- 49. Is it okay to “snoop”? Play-date analogy Use parental monitoring software and site filters Do NOT rely on these methods only An opportunity to reward good behavior Keep passwords for emergencies Check your child’s internet History
- 50. Talk about allowable and unallowable sites BAN Ask.fm and sites that promote negativity Set a time limit for use Discuss the rules of posting Will this hurt the feelings of others? Could this show strangers where I live or go to school? Will I get in trouble at school? Consistently apply firm consequences for inappropriate on-line behavior
- 53. SexualOrientation Race Disability Mental health Poverty Depression Victim
- 54. Use the right words (Avoid “me” & “you”) NO- “I don’t like what you posted about me.” YES- “That post doesn’t belong on Facebook Using assertive language is most effective!
- 55. Facebook is making changes. Links provided allow children to respond to posts or images that they don’t like in a constructive manner
- 56. Keep evidence of cyberbullying. Record the dates, times, and descriptions of instances when cyber bullying has occurred. Save and print screenshots, emails, and text messages. Use this evidence to report cyberbullying to web and cell phone service providers. Block the person who is cyberbullying. Report the cyberbullying to social media sites and internet service providers Cyberbullying behavior usually violates the terms of service
- 57. Cyber activities that include the following are crimes and should be reported to police: Threats of violence or extortion Child pornography or sending sexually explicit messages or photos Taking a photo or video of someone in a place where he or she would expect privacy Stalking and hate crimes
- 58. K.S.A. 72-8256 Introduced 2007 Amended in 2008 to include Cyberbullying March 2011- first week of Oct is Bullying Awareness Week Additional amendments to strengthen this law “died in committee” June 2012 USD 259 P1464 PUPIL BEHAVIOR – REGULATIONS Bullying occurs in all forms including, but not limited to, appearance, status with a peer group (social power), intellectual, socio-economic, gender, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, etc. Bullying in any form is prohibited on school property, in a school vehicle, or at a school-sponsored activity or event. In addition, bullying is prohibited while utilizing school property. Bullying includes Cyberbullying.
- 59. What doesn’t work: Zero-tolerance policies Conflict resolution with peer mediation Group treatment for student who bully Simple, short-term solutions What does work: Role playing, practice scenarios as part of year-long curriculum Acknowledging bullying outside of school affects school performance and attendance Protecting students that report cyber bullying Strict monitoring of digital media use Helping to educate parents
- 60. SchoolViolence Hotline 1-877-626-8203 If a child is bullied because of their race, ethnicity, or disability and local help is not working to solve the problem- Contact the U.S. Department of Education’s Office on Civil Rights
- 61. No federal laws currently against “bullying” Only Harassment / Discrimination protection ▪ Qualifiers for Federal protection: Severe, Persistent, Pervasive Hostile environment (Student’s participation is limited) Race/Ethnic Color Sex Disability *Religion
- 62. D.D. v. R.R. In this cyberbullying case, D.C., a 15 year old student, and his parents brought a hate crime, defamation, and other claims against another student, R.R., and his parents concerning the posting of threatening and derogatory comments on the student, D.C.'s, web page.One comment referred to R.R.'s desire to "pound your head in with an ice pick". The court denied the special motion to strike under CaliforniaCode of Civil Procedure § 425.16.The Court of Appeal found that the defendants statements were true threats and were not protected speech and not a public issue.This case demonstrates that some instances of cyber bullying may not necessarily be protected under Freedom of Speech. D.C. v. R.R., 182 Cal. App. 4th 1190 (2010)
- 63. www.stopbullyingnow.com www.stopcyberbullying.org www.ncpc.org provides information about stopping cyber bullying before it starts. www.wiredsafety.com “Growing Up Online” Frontline- PBS, purchase DVD or view on-line at: www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/view/
- 67. Baldry A, et al. Direct and vicarious victimization at school and at home as risk factors for suicidal cognition among Italian adolescents. Journal of Adolescence. 26(6). 703-716. 2003. Bandura A. 2002. Selective moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency. J Moral Edu 31:101-119. Celizic, Mike (March 6, 2009). “Her teen committed suicide over ‘sexing’". Today Parenting- MSNBC. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/29546030. Retrieved 2010-10-27. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2007. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 56(35), 905-908. Growing Up Online (Chapter 6: "Cyberbullying"). [Television production]. Boston: PBS. January 22, 2008. Event occurs at 0:08:16–0:08:30. http://www.pbs.org/frontline/video/share.html?s=frol02n3b7q4e. Retrieved 2010-10- 27. Hinduja S, et al. Bullying, Cyberbullying, and Suicide. Archives of Suicide Research. 14:206-221, 2010. Kaltiala-Heino R, et al. Bullying, depression, and suicidal ideation in Finnish adolescents: School Survey. British Medical Journal. 319(7206). 348-351. 1999. Kowalski R, et al. Electronic bullying among middle school students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41, S22- S30. 2007. Kowalski R, et al. 2008. Cyber Bullying. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Jonathan Lemire, Michael J. Feeney And Larry Mcshane (1 October 2010). "He Wanted Roomie Out Rutgers Suicide Complained Of Video Voyeur Before Fatal Fall". Daily News (New York): p. 2. Retrieved 2010-10-27. Mishna F, et al. Cyber Bullying Behaviors Among Middle and High School Students. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 2010. Vol 8, No 3, 362-374. Pornari CD, et al. Peer and Cyber Aggression in Secondary School Students: The Role of Moral Disengagement, Hostile Attribution Bias, and Outcome Expectancies. Aggressive Behavior. Vol 36, pg 81-94. (2010) Steinhauer, Jennifer (November 26, 2008). "Verdict in MySpace Suicide Case". New York Times. References
- 68. KSDE Bullying Prevention. Statement from the Kansas State Board of Education. Access from http://www.ksde.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=KGbmh5hB-fY%3D&tabid=4732 on December 5th, 2012. Young, R. (Writer), & Ashlock, A. (Director). (2013). Facebook Debuts New Bullying Reporting Messages [Radio series episode]. In K. McKenna (Producer), Here and Now. Boston: NPR, WBUR.
Notes de l'éditeur
- Until the zombie apocalypse or some other major disaster- technology is here to stay. Despite recognition of the multiple harms of technology you cannot stop the wheel of progress. I am a huge fan of coming home and unplugging!!!! However, I would not be a successful, well-trained, up-to-date physician if I was unwilling to embrace technology when I need to. Trying to raise your children in a technology void will only cause harm in the long run. There are necessary skills they will need in the changing world of education, future employment, and daily life skills (such as paying bills electronically).
- I strongly advise against technology saturation! Kids need time for imaginative play in the real, 3-dimensional world! They need to rest their eyes from staring at screens and blink more often. They need to be more physically active. They need fewer opportunities for marketing companies to “program” them to ask for the sugary cereals and the latest toys. Even the AAP endorses that small doses of technology and limited screen time can still produce an appropriate tech savvy kid who will also likely develop good health habits that will carry through their lives.
- I need to quickly and briefly address the attitude many adults demonstrate when this topic is mentioned. The older the generation you belong to the more likely you are to believe that children just need to ignore these hateful messages and move on with their lives. “If you ignore a bully you take away their power and soon they’ll leave you alone.” However, this is back when nasty notes got passed around on notebook paper. And, those nasty notes have since dissolved in some far away landfill. We are talking about the internet. The internet is more permanent than writing something in stone. It lives forever. The folks who see it aren’t just your 3rd grade class, it will also be your 4th grade, 5th grade classes, everyone in your middle school, every high school student in your city, every college student in your state, and every future employer you ever interview with. From the very first moment you engage the internet you become a digital citizen. And the internet has become a ubiquitous part of our culture. To completely avoid the entire internet, all social media, and all cell phone use isn’t feasible with a modern career any more. And this isn’t just about personal responsibility and what YOU put on the internet; this is a lecture about what to do when someone attacks you on the internet. While I am focusing on children today, any one of your could become a victim of cyberharassment or worse, be an unintentional cyberbully. This isn’t just about protecting your kids, it’s also about protecting yourself and even your business!So how are bullying and cyber bullying so different?
- Before we focus on cyber bullying we’ll look at bullying at large. There are several different kinds generally divided into two categories. Overt bullying is more typical of boys given the more physical or face-to-face confrontations they employ. Girls tend to favor Relational bullying such as not inviting Sally to their sleepovers, not letting Betty sit with them at lunch, or blatantly ignoring Maggie when she tries to say hi. Pretty much the plot of the movie Mean Girls.Unfortunately sometimes even traditional bullying can be hard to define. When does innocent teasing or boyish banter cross the line? Many of the courts have adopted the attitude that it becomes cruel and traumatizing when the victim or a bystander feels that bullying is taking place. It’s not a perfect interpretation but it’s the best out there for now. To complicate matters there now exists the phenomenon of cyber bullying. As mankind develops new and amazing technology we have now found new ways to hurt and humiliate our fellow human beings.
- Remember that we have a blunted feedback loop when we are online. When you call someone a “loser” to their face you instantly see their non-verbal reaction. If that person is absolutely devastated the bullying might stop there. You got the reaction you were looking for- you know you caused that other person pain. However, if you are online and you fail to see that non-verbal reaction you keep sending more messages with an escalating amount of viciousness.
- There’s also growing belief in an escalation phenomenon. If you are trying to get the attention of an audience on the internet- you have to go BIG! You have to have the most outrageous, the meanest, the most shocking posts to get any attention. And the internet is ripe with resources to find cruel pranks. This culture of constantly pushing it to the next level affects the face-to-face encounters too. If as a bully you have now started making online threats or promises for retaliation you have a very large audience that expects you to either “put up or shut up”. Bullies now feel pressured to continue the online escalation pattern in real life and there are believed to be increasing numbers of physical encounters and the increasing severity of these encounters. Name calling becomes rock throwing which becomes fist fights which become attacks with weapons.
- This all sounds really nasty but there’s no way my child is involved, right?
- Several large cross-sectional studies exist and indicate that cyber bullying is quite real and wide spread. We’re constantly hearing about it the news. When I first gave this talk a few years ago only small, homogenous sample studies were available in the literature to help us understand the why, how, and who of this growing issue. More and more data is getting published and we are gaining a better understanding of this new cultural phenomenon. While individual studies show a dramatic range of cyber bullying rates, cumulative data is helping us come closer to the actual rate. It is currently approximated that one in four school-aged children are victims of cyber bullying.
- Interestingly, cyber bullying is slightly more common in girls. However this fits with the pattern of Relational-type bullying being more common in girls. And the rates of being a cyber bully are nearly as high as the victimization rate. It is estimated that only 9% of participants are “pure victims”. More frequently, victims turn around and become the bullies themselves perpetuating the hurtful behaviors.
- Middle school students surveyed report that bullies are usually from the same school and often it is a friend or other peers with a close relationship. Sadly the rate of bullying is slightly higher among “friends” than “ex-friends”. This contributes to a sense of isolation when the online bullying occurs because you no longer know who you can trust or turn to for support when you most need help. But all of this data is focusing on cold, hard facts. To further stress the importance of this topic you only need to read a newspaper or turn on the news.
- Ryan Halligan was one of the first cases to reach the level of national news connecting suicide to specifically cyber bullying. After his father helped Ryan confront a bully who was being physically aggressive at school he thought things were getting better for his son. It was only after Ryan hung himself that his father logged into Ryan’s online accounts and witnessed the tormented life his son had been living the last several months.
- Megan’s story made national news when it was discovered that her tormentor was actually a classmate’s mother and another adult. What had started between teenagers became an elaborate plot by adults to humiliate a young girl using a fake teenage boy persona on MySpace. While this case involves adults and therefore should be called cyber harassment the idea of impersonation isn’t a new one among the on-line pediatric population. After coercing Megan to fall in love with this fake teenage boy “he” then abruptly and cruelly rejected her in front of a large online community. Megan was so devastated she hung herself. These adult women are now serving jail time.
- Jesse made a mistake and her peer community at school and online began to torment her for it. Jesse at least tried to fight back against the humiliation and harassment by telling her story to a Cincinnati television station. However the bullying soon intensifiedand Jesse was no longer able to attend school out of fear. When she would try to pull her car into the school parking lot other girls would throw bricks at her car. She finally dropped out for the remainder of the school year. That summer rather than face another school year of torment she hung herself in July of 2008.
- Even here in Wichita, Ks bullying has become such an issue that we have had our own victim of bullycide. Rhianna loved to sing and posted several videos of herself performing on YouTube. However even with this creative outlet her classmates would find her and post hateful remarks. Rhianna's father says his 14-year-old daughter felt so dejected because of insults hurled by classmates and similar bullying by different kids over the years— that she came home from school one day, wrote a goodbye letter, put her cellphone on its charger and hanged herself in her bedroom closet. She died Sept. 21.In 2012, Wichita schools logged 357 cases of bullying, down from 469 the previous year. But last school year, for the first time, bullying was among the top five topics of concern for parents calling the district's grievance office.Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2011/10/02/2041713/a-renewed-battle-against-bullying.html#ixzz1cUVyS3aX
- Once a picture has been posted, it lives FOREVER on the internet. These images can be adapted into “memes” and now there is a worldwide contest to see who can come up with the cruelest or most humiliating captions. These are images from several popular memes on the internet currently, to respect the professionalism of this talk I’ve excluded the other captions. The saddest part is these are children who were choosing to participate in legitimate extra curricular activities. Or maybe were a bit too young to realize how they were coming across to their peers. How do you go through life knowing that every minute of every day there are people out there laughing at you and spreading it on to hundreds of others?
- Angry, violent kids become angry, violent adults. Many of the mentioned outcomes do tend to be more specific to overt styles of bullying and therefore more likely reflect male outcomes. However, social science is better starting to understand relational style bullying and the longterm consequences this has for females.
- Children who are witness to repeat, aggressive bullying also are shown to suffer from the effects.
- Each day an estimated 160,000 children nationwide refuse to go to school for fear of being bullied School provides this kind forced face-to-face encounter. The bully and the victim are no longer able to avoid each other. And there is growing data that cyber bullying may be leading to increased physical violence at school. People who are bullied are more likely to retaliate through extremely violent measures. In 12 of 15 school shooting cases in the 1990s, the shooters had a history of being bullied.
- Parents- when you announce your child’s birthday, school, college acceptance, etc- you are setting them up for online predators. When you post vacation photos during vacation- people know your house is empty and ready to be robbed. Even when you are at home- many digital photos are “geotagged”, meaning you may inadvertently give away your home address just by posting a picture of that awesome lasagna you just cooked. (Inspired by Pinterest of course!)And when your child breaks the rules- come down on them! Joining sites they are not suppose to, or disabling fitlers, deleting their internet history- treat all this no differently than if they decided to sneak out of the house! They put themselves in danger despite your warnings. So the lesson has to come across a different way. Some parents have gotten into the trend of Internet Shaming.
- Funny when it’s your dog who ate a roll of toilet paper. Not so funny when it’s your child though. This comes a little too close to parents turning into bullies…
- Try to recognize if your child has an especially hard time fitting in with their peer group. Maybe they have to take a few special education classes, maybe they are gifted. Maybe they have asthma or are obese. Maybe your son enjoys choir or your daughter wants to try out for the wrestling team. As parents we all want to see our child standout but sometimes distinction isn’t always positive. If your child stands out in any way, they are at increased risk for victimization. And, unfortunately once you internalize the role of victim you are at increased risk for depression and poor mental health. And just like wild animals, school children can smell despair. This is how a spiral of despondency starts. Be proactive if your child is at risk. Lastly, teach your child tolerance! Set a good example by not pointing out what you perceive to be the faults of others. Praise other children for their successes and triumphs. Encourage your child to grow up in a diverse environment. Act like the kind of person you want them to grow up to be.
- Despite the best preparedness though, you or your child will likely encounter hurtful posts. When this occurs90% of inappropriate content can be dealt with quicklyOnly 10% of cases cause so much harm or makes a child so fearful that outside authorities need to be made aware.Many middle schoolers and even highschoolers do not know the appropriate vernacular to get desirable results.
- Facebook has partnered with the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence to reduce the amount of bullying occurring and to respond to the demand by user to combat or stop bulling. Children are very hesitant to report online issues to adults or authorities. However, children also feel unable or unwilling to confront bullies directly. Both Yale and Facebook are exploring new options to overcome these hurdles.
- When you uncover cyber bullying there are several steps you should encourage parents to take right away. A lot of it is obtaining documentation that the bullying is occurring. Save all the evidence in several formats and include as much time and date information as possible. Parents should then start contacting media sites and internet service providers to report the inappropriate behavior. Parents must refrain from taking online justice into their own hands- this could be considered cyber stalking (adult + minor) and will get them in worse trouble.
- Based on the information the family provides you the type of cyber bullying occurring may warrant prompt police involvement. Discourage parents from contacting the police unless there is evidence of a crime or significant threat. If the harassment doesn’t meet any of the listed criteria parents should instead focus on contacting the school and the internet service providers first.
- Historically, when schools tried to get involved by disciplining a student for cyber bullying actions that took place off-campus and outside of school hours, they were often sued for exceeding their authority and violating the student's free speech right. They also lost a lot of these legal battles. But, the tide is turning! All 50 states have since passed anti-bullying laws with most including cyber bullying in some form. Specifically with Kansas, the original bullying law went into effect 2007, amended in 2008 to include cyber bullying. March of 2011 the State declared the first week of October to be Bullying awareness week in Kansas. There were further amendments introduced in January this year, but these changes “died in committee” in June of this year. The state of Kansas has an anti-cyber bullying law that is considered very weak, vague, and difficult to enforce. The law also only applies to what schools are suppose to do when cyber bullying happens on school grounds or with school property. So, any cyber bullying occurring between two children from different schools via their home computers wouldn’t fall under this law. To date, only 11 states have established criminal sanctions for online behavior. The proposed amendments to Kansas’ law were meant to address some of these issues but it came to naught and we continue to have a weak, vague law.
- Zero tolerance or “three strikes and you’re out” policies: These policies have the potential to exclude large numbers of students from school, discourage reporting of bullying, and deprive students who bully from the good role models they so need. Conflict resolution and peer mediation: Bullying is not a conflict between two people of equal power with equal blame for the situation. Also, facing those who have bullied them may further upset students who have been bullied. Group treatment for students who bully: Group members tend to reinforce bullying behavior in each other. Simple, short-term solutions: Focusing on bullying in a piecemeal way (e.g., in-service training, school assembly, lessons taught by individual teachers) will do much less to prevent bullying than a school-wide initiative.
- If schools fail to keep a child physically safe when attending school or school-related events or even on the school buses parents should be encouraged to call the School Violence Hotline.Additionally if a child’s civil rights are being violated and local officials are not helping to improve the situation parents can take their case to the federal level and contact the Dept of Education’s Office on Civil Rights.
- Parents should recognize that the DOE is very busy and it can be very hard to get much attention for your case unless it is a very clear violation of your civil rights! Department of Education and the Department of Justice*Religion isn’t specifically mentioned, but historically it has been supported as religious beliefs are generally tied to ethnic beliefs. *Sexual Orientation is also not listed. Title IX and Title IV do not prohibit discrimination based solely on sexual orientation, but they protect all students, including students who are LGBT or perceived to be LGBT, from sex-based harassment.Harassment based on sex and sexual orientation are not mutually exclusive. When students are harassed based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation, they may also be subjected to forms of sex discrimination recognized under Title IXA female high school student was spit on, slammed into lockers, mocked, and routinely called names because she did not conform to feminine stereotypes and because of her sexual orientation. The student had short hair, a deep voice, and wore male clothing. After the harassment started, she told some classmates she was a lesbian, and the harassment worsened. The school described the harassment as “sexual orientation harassment” in its incident reports and did not take any action.In this case, the student was harassed based on her non-conformity to gender stereotypes. In this case, then, although the school labeled the incident as “sexual orientation harassment,” the harassment was also based on sex and covered under Title IX. This school was held responsible for failure to intervene and uphold federal laws.
- Online threats are being taken very seriously by both police and our judicial system. Generic harassment has been harder to address. Subjective statements based solely on opinion (such as “ you are the ugliest kid at school”) while vile are harder to prosecute.
- Katie was 7 years old, she wore dark rimmed glasses, the only Jewish kid in her class, and she sometimes had to wear an eye patch due to a lazy eye. When the new school year started she was so excited to show off her new gear. Just like her daddy she is a huge Star Wars fan. Katie even had a Star Wars backpack and water bottle. However only a few days into the new school year, katie asked her mother for a different water bottle, a pink one. This was very out of character for her daughter so her mother pressed her for a reason and finally a few days later Katie confessed that she was getting teased at school for liking something that only boys are suppose to like. Already feeling different from her peers this was a battle Katie didn’t feel she could fight. Her mother was devastated that her daughter was giving up something she truly loved just so she could fit in at school. Katie’s mother took to the internet and posted a blog about Katie’s trouble at school. What happened next was amazing! Encouragement from the entire world started pouring in! Stories of similar childhood experiences were shared and twitter began to trend #maytheforcebewithkatie! One of the voice actors for the Star Wars: Clone Wars tv series sent her a special message of encouragement. Soon, Katie was being sent girl-friendly Star Wars gear, a lightsaber, and invitations to geek festivals! Katie learned that she wasn’t the only girl who liked Star Wars, that sporting your passion should never make you feel bad, and that she was a hero to many other little girls out there. Thank you, Internet for doing something right this time!