This is in response to the article in the Cape Times “Close ranks behind victims to put paid to bullying at school” (Monday, July 31, 2017) by Rock Girl Azola Mafilika, who wrote about the experiences of repeatedly being victimised over many years.
To summarise, she reports about victimised pupils presenting poor academic results; bullying happening in the class with the teacher present; pupils afraid to go onto the playground during breaks – fearful of being bullied; pupils not being able to tell parents for fear that they would make the matter worse; educators being indifferent at witnessing bullying behaviour.
These are but a few reported experiences of one pupil, who was a victim of bullying.
There are so many more pupils who still have not been able to speak up because of an extremely damaged self-esteem and being fearful of becoming a further target of bullying.
So regularly these days we read or hear news about pupils committing suicide, most times as a result of being bullied. On the other hand too, we read about pupils who end up committing violent attacks on other pupils, sometimes as a result of being a victim of bullying over time.
Regrettably we learn about the facts after the violent incident and then we as adults try to do damage control at all costs. Today, I put “pen to paper” as my tribute to Women’s Day 2017, advocating for:
– Better anti-bullying measures in schools and the prevention of further bullying.
– As a point of departure, schools should regularly be assessed along various specific measures that include pupils’ school satisfaction; types of bullying that exist; characteristics (class, gender) of the bully; location of the bullying; the extent (if any) of disclosure of the bullying; the extent (if any) of peer social support, as well as the extent (if any) of adult intervention. It is exactly along these lines that intervention should essentially occur at the school level, class level and individual level.
– One should increase the awareness of the problem and instil knowledge about bullying at any particular school.
In this way then, bullies would be "brought to book" through: the active positive interest and involvement on the part of teachers and parents; schools should have clearly developed rules against bullying behaviour, so the adult society of the school population would be able to provide appropriate support and protection for the victims of bullying.
At the classroom level, more should be done to support the provision of emotional skills development, namely responsibility, decision making, empathy, self-awareness, co-operation, communication, etc.
It is vital that we as a nation re-establish our value systems such as caring, sharing, respect, trust, tolerance, acceptance, etc as ongoing activities such as life orientation class sessions.
All strategies should support, develop and at all times promote the message that bullying is not acceptable.