Bullying, Safety and Respect for All

Beth Reis, M.S.Health Educator, Public Health – Seattle & King County

Co-Chair, Safe Schools Coalition

December 2008

Agenda

Your data and what research says about the consequences

Stories from the Safe Schools Project When they don’t report … why? Strategies to reduce bias-based bullying and

violence Bullying intervention activity (small

groups) & discussion

Healthy Youth Survey Bullying Questions

“A student is being bullied when another student, or group of students, say or do unpleasant things to him or her. It is also bullying when a student is teased repeatedly in a way he or she doesn’t like. It is NOT bullying when two students of about the same strength argue or fight.”

Bullying Questions – percent bullied in past 30 days

Among 6th gradersMcIllvaigh – 30% Gault – 30%WA State – 32%

Among 8th gradersMcIllvaigh – 36% Gault – 33%WA State – 27%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

WA State

Gault

McIllvaigh

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

WA State

Gault

McIllvaigh

HYS Questions, 8th grade only

McIllvaigh: 16%

Gault: 33%

WA state: 15%

In the past 30 days … were you bullied, harassed or intimidated at school or on your way to or from school because of your race, ethnicity, or national origin or what someone thought it was?

-7% 3% 13% 23% 33%

WA State

Gault

McIllvaigh

HYS Questions, 8th grade only

McIllvaigh:16%

Gault: 19%

WA state: 15%

In the past 30 days … were you bullied, harassed or intimidated at school or on your way to or from school because of your religion or what someone thought it was?

-7% 3% 13% 23% 33%

WA State

Gault

McIllvaigh

HYS Questions, 8th grade only

McIllvaigh:10%

Gault: 23%

WA state: 14%

In the past 30 days … were you bullied, harassed or intimidated at school or on your way to or from school because someone thought you were gay, lesbian, or bisexual (whether you are or are not)?

-7% 3% 13% 23% 33%

WA State

Gault

McIllvaigh

HYS Questions, 8th grade only

McIllvaigh: 13%

Gault: 25%

WA state: 20%

In the past 30 days … were you bullied, harassed or intimidated at school or on your way to or from school because of your gender (being male or female)? This includes sexual jokes, gestures, or comments that make you feel uncomfortable.

-2% 3% 8% 13% 18% 23% 28% 33%

WA State

Gault

McIllvaigh

HYS Questions, 8th grade only

McIllvaigh: 10%

Gault: 13%

WA state: 10%

In the past 30 days … were you bullied, harassed or intimidated at school or on your way to or from school because you have a health problem or physical or mental disability, or someone thought you did?

-7% 3% 13% 23% 33%

WA State

Gault

McIllvaigh

HYS Questions, 8th grade only

McIllvaigh: 27%

Gault: 38%

WA state: 28%

-2% 8% 18% 28% 38%

WA State

Gault

McIllvaigh

In the past 30 days … were you bullied, harassed or intimidated at school or on your way to or from school because of any other reason?

Other forms of bias-based harassment that HYS

doesn’t ask about:

class- or neighborhood-based

height- or weight-based

What else do you see? anticipate?

So what? What difference does race-based bullying make?

Analysis of one district’s data found that students

who were harassed due to race were twice as likely

as their non racially-harassed peers to report

having skipped at least one whole day of school in

the past month out of fear for their own safety.

What about sexual bullying?

Like the racially harassed students, youth of both

genders were twice as likely if they had been sexually-

harassed to report having skipped at least one whole

day of school in the past month out of fear.

And anti-gay bullying?

Even heterosexual youth who had been verbally or physically gay-

bashed were at increased risk.

They were three times as likely as their non-harassed, heterosexual

peers to report having skipped at least one whole day of school in the

past month out of fear.

WA State: Depression and Suicidality

% Reporting Symptoms of Depression or Suicidal Behaviors in Past Year, Grade 10, HYS 2006

7

2

39

21

1719

9 7

0

10

20

30

40

50

Depression* Suicidal Ideation* Suicidal Plan* Suicide Attempt*

%

Combined Bullied/ Harassed Not Bullied/ Harassed

Significant at p <0.05

QUIZ:

“Kids are just mean and there’s

nothing we can do about it.”

True or False?

Wow … all that from name-calling?

Just how serious are these incidents?

When They Don’t Report … WHY?! shame and self-blame

fear that they wouldn’t be believed or that they would be blamed or disciplined

fear of retribution

respect for someone else’s wishes

assumption that nothing would be done, hopelessness

Assignments … strategies to: increase reporting improve investigation engage students in solving the problem increase families’ awareness decrease racism, misogyny/transphobia,

homophobia

improve intervention

Intervention Steps

Get the person’s attention (use their name if possible).

Keep it calm (offer face-saving). Call it out (name it). Say how you feel, how targets feel. Tell them what you want. Put a price on it.

Intervention Activity

Each person takes a slip of paper. First person tells the group your age and the

context. Say your line, in role, as a child. Person to your left, respond, in role, as yourself

(the adult who overheard the comment or to whom it was said).

Others can add what else they might say. Then the person who was the adult becomes

the next child and the person to their left is the adult.

My # 1 RECOMMENDATION

for launching your change:

Speechify