Wednesday 16th March 2011:

In the ‘Bullying’ book, Chapter 11 (‘Helping Victims’) starts with ‘Bullying cannot be cured just by treating the victims. They are not suffering from a disease but are involved in complex social situations, each of which is unique and requires individual action. Parents, teachers, friends and bystanders all play a part in the confrontation between bully and victim so they must also be included in any coping strategy.’ I think this is important because it’s not just the bully and the victim involved – teachers need to constantly help to prevent the bullying from occurring again, parents need to understand how their child feels and try to prevent their child from bullying again/ make sure their child tells them if there is another bullying incident, and bystanders need to be supportive of anti-bullying, so not to influence the bully to bully again, etc.

It goes on to say that ‘Victims need to be reassured that they are not alone and that it could happen to anyone; all it takes is to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Such an assertion may contradict the popular wisdom of the playground.’ I feel that this is what I want my organisation to promote – the fact that they’re not alone (the bully or the victim), and that support is available. Also, I want support to be available for all involved: victims, bullies, parents, teachers, bystanders, etc, as they all need to know what to do and be able to gain advice.

Furthermore, a study recommends that ‘head teachers and staff should: be alert to signs of racial harassment and bullying, deal firmly with all such behaviour, and take action on clear rules which are backed by appropriate sanctions and systems to protect and support victims.’ I feel that this will help me when thinking about what I want my organisation to do, for example: helping teachers to spot signs of bullying and how to handle it, etc.

Target for today: Begin reading Chapter 11 in ‘Bullying’ book – ‘Helping Victims’.

Target for tomorrow: Finish reading Chapter 11 in ‘Bullying’ book – ‘Helping Victims’.