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Bullying calls for a broader response
The recent tragic death of bullying victim Amanda Todd in British Columbia should remind us all that the well-being of children is the responsibility of us all.
The circumstances surrounding her death are tragic, in that she felt despondent enough after the latest round of bullying that she had to endure that her only solution was to end her own life. That she had gone online short weeks before taking her own life to appeal for understanding made it a worldwide issue.
The country has taken up the cause, trying to make sense of the tragedy and once again calling for ways to end bullying. Politicians are calling for a bipartisan committee to develop a national anti-bullying strategy to find some solution to this nationwide issue.
What makes the issue of bullying even more serious today than it was in the past is the escalation of the viciousness and methods of bullying that children and youth encounter. Online bullying, and rumour spreading through Facebook or other social media sites have added to the perennial schoolyard bullying.
Schools are trying their best to combat the issue, but the reality seems to be that bullying will be a part of our society until we all stand up to it, address it with our children, and end any tolerance for it.
The difficulty then will be, what do we do with the bully? Some would say that the most common approach is to bully the bullies until they stop. Barbara Coloroso in her book, The Bully, the Bullied and the Bystander, indicates that the larger problem in the issue is the reluctance of bystanders to stand up for the victim, partially in fear that they may soon become victims themselves.
Many have the attitude that bullying is a normal part of growing up, that all of us will experience it to a certain degree, and that we need to hang in there until it goes away.
The problem, as in the case of Amanda Todd, is that not everyone can see light at the end of the tunnel and some will take drastic measures to end the torment.
Child and Youth Friendly Saskatoon maintains that we must all take responsibility for children and youth in our community.
It is interesting that in the current civic election, economic issues and infrastructure needs seemed to have superseded more basic social issues of homelessness and opportunity for youth. There are many social agencies working with children and youth in our community, but perhaps it is time that we develop a strategy that sees everyone working together to improve efficiencies and tackle the issues that fall between the cracks.
Youth employment and meaningful engagement, cyber bullying and healthy relationships are all issues that cross department lines, and sometimes are only addressed after a tragedy occurs. Amanda Todd is the latest victim of this approach of, "Now what should we do?"
It is time we take a more proactive approach to the serious issues that our children and youth face, and work at solutions before they become life threatening. It is too late for Amanda Todd, but we must start to address these serious issues on a larger scale than simply case by case.
Our youth and our society's well-being depend upon a healthy population, including children who have grown up feeling safe, secure, nurtured, honoured and valued. We as a society didn't do that for Amanda Todd and countless other victims.
It would be nice to believe we can start doing it now
Robin Mitchell
25 October 2012
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/life/Bullying+calls+broader+response/7443433/story.html
