Adults and administrations empower bullies

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Bullying is something most of us have experienced at some point in our lives. It is a type of aggression where a power imbalance and behaviour makes the person being bullied feel afraid, alone, or uncomfortable, according to Statistics Canada. Seven in 10 youth experience bullying, the most common forms being name-calling, exclusion, and spreading of rumours, Statistics Canada found. 

When someone hears the word bullying, they tend to think of someone threatening to steal lunch money or physically threaten the victim. While there is always a threat of physical violence, the mental toll bullying takes on a person is just as alarming. Statistics Canada reported the stress victims feel manifests into physical issues such as difficulty sleeping and head, stomach, and back aches. 

So what are administrations doing to curb this behavior and its impacts? Well, we have Pink Shirt Day and its associated awareness campaigns and events, but do they really do anything besides lip service? I believe these campaigns do nothing and can instead backfire because pushing knowledge campaigns on people can make them hold onto their previously-held views even tighter, increasing that same behaviour. So, awareness campaigns don’t seem to work. 

What about taking the diplomatic route, like telling a teacher or reporting a person to administration? 

An article by Medium found this can be ineffective, make things worse, and the bullying often continues. So what happens when administrations do not address bullying properly or have an ineffective zero-tolerance policy? Unfortunately, the impacts are vast, and often, the “solution” that students are expected to come up with is violence. 

I don’t condone violence in any form. Most stories we hear about victims who told their parents what happened at school goes something like this — they tried talking to the bully first, then they spoke to an adult (teacher or principal) and it calmed down for a bit, but eventually got worse. 

Then, the victim fights back by beating the bully up or by some form of retaliation, resulting in the victim getting suspended. If the bullying isn’t occurring at school, the adults in the situation often reprimand the victim and the bully gets away with what they did, but in the end, they back off and never mess with the person again. It is very infuriating that the victim gets the short end of the stick in every situation, especially since this is just one of the many impacts bullying has on victims. 

So, what can be done to stop this? Well, first of all, parents themselves need to accept the fact that their “little angel,” who supposedly can do no wrong, actually does wrong, and do something about it, like restricting the bully’s participation in activities, which includes school teams. Administrations also need to send this message to the bully’s parents along with holding them accountable, as they, too, seem to play the soft game. Perhaps another solution administrations could do, is something called an undercover anti-bullying team, that is peer led in classrooms. The study showed promising results, which included students who were victims, are now feeling more supported and the victimization seems to have decreased as well.

Although more people are aware of bullying, oftentimes, due to the bystander effect, people end up not helping despite wanting to help in the first place. It is disappointing to say the least, especially when victims end up feeling more alone and vulnerable due to the inability of their peers to step in. I understand not everyone can intervene, but it only takes one person to step up for the rest to fall into place. As for people who choose to bully, do better, and mind your own business.