All society must stand up to bullying

BULLYING is a growing problem in our schools.

The effects of serial psychological and physical abuse can be catastrophic, severely damaging a young person’s self-esteem and inhibiting their chances of success in later life. We know from recent high-profile cases that bullying conducted over the internet can even have tragic consequences. Cyberbullying, enabled by new media tools like smartphones and tablets, has created challenges for educators and parents in protecting young people. It is a menace that stalks school corridors, homes and community centres, usually under the cloak of anonymity.

Cyberbullying is not the only form of intimidation that demands our collective, urgent attention. The National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals commissioned Amárach Research to conduct a survey aimed at gauging public attitudes to bullying. Despite the publicity over cyberbullying, the survey found that four out of five adults, or 81%, believe online and traditional bullying pose an equally serious risk to children’s mental health. Just 12% believe that cyberbullying is worse than traditional forms of bullying. The rest, 7%, believe traditional bullying poses the most serious threat to children’s mental health. The conclusion is that bullying is bullying, whether conducted online or offline.

Some recent commentary has sought to assign responsibility for tackling bullying between groups: Parents, teachers, principals, victims, perpetrators, Government, advocacy organisations, and social services. That approach is divisive and misses the point. We all have a role to play in combating bullying, including cyberbullying. Bullying is a societal problem, not just a school one. That perspective is borne out in the survey, which shows the public believes both parents and schools share the responsibility to advise children about safe internet practice, warn them about online risks and supervise their internet activity.

We need to boost public awareness of cyberbullying, given the increased use of smartphones, email, instant messaging, chatrooms, blogs, bulletin boards, and social networks. School principals tell me that many children are suffering in silence, afraid to reach out to a friend, parent, or teacher. Cyberbullying is a particularly insidious form of bullying, as it is usually anonymous and impulsive, with perpetrators feeling detached from victims and therefore lacking any real sense of accountability or understanding. Cyberbullies can use forums to rally like-minded people, and coordinate their activities with relative ease. Facebook recently admitted it faces a “significant problem” with underage children setting up accounts.

Yet principals tell me that some social networks either do not respond or are slow to react to their requests to take down abusive posts about a student in their care. The social networks ought to have a dedicated liaison officer whose function is to take calls from schools and parents and act promptly in deleting offensive posts.

As educators, we take seriously our responsibility to fight cyberbullying, and give children the life skills they need to succeed. School principals are already working hard to combat school bullying. They care for students’ welfare and intervene when they know a child is the victim of abuse. But, with the march of technology, the world is changing, and schools cannot control bullying beyond the classroom or playground, just as they cannot be expected to police an unregulated internet.

But there are steps schools can take to stop bullies and protect victims. The first is to ensure that schools’ anti-bullying policies are up to date. NAPD recently issued advice to school principals to help them to better understand cyberbullying. We urged them to introduce an internet educational module for all students, highlighting the seriousness of cyberbullying, and asked them to implement a school-wide policy that monitors cyber risk and outlines steps for dealing with it. We have issued guidelines on dealing with cyberbullying as a principal, year head, guidance counsellor, victim and perpetrator. Schools should educate parents’ associations about the dangers of social media platforms. Crucially, too, we have work to do to help our second-level schools to identify and stop homophobic bullying, particularly since research shows that 12 is the most common age at which someone becomes aware of their lesbian, gay, or bisexual identity. We want principals and teachers to develop children’s confidence and skills in reporting bullying to a trusted adult.

In educating our children about their obligations to one another — respect, decency and mutual understanding — we can create the conditions in which bullying cannot thrive.

Education Minister Ruairí Quinn and Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald deserve credit for launching the Action Plan on Bullying. Their anti-bullying policy template and framework for recording incidents of bullying in schools should help. But the Government must also ensure that schools are properly resourced and supported in delivering anti-bullying strategies, including continuous professional development.

Our response to bullying must be targeted and prompt. It is critical that we tackle the problem as a society, rather than leaving it up to any one group. We can beat the cyberbullies, so long as we confront them together.

* Clive Byrne is director of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals.