Say no to bullying!

"I would rather be a nobody than to be an evil somebody"
The fact of the matter is a lot of young people are becoming bullies themselves, people online in cyberspace are bullying, people in work places are bullying others just to have the upper hand. Arguably, this could be because of their own experiences with feeling inferior. Subsequently, these feelings of inadequacy are transferred onto others which is; bullying if it is indeed persistent. But can anything really be done?

Bullying is defined as the relentless harassing of someone else through various means: Cyber bullying, online bullying, bullying in schools and bullying of professionals in the work place. Is it fair to say that bullying is something that can start from the home. If an individual is demeaned, neglected by their parents could this incite more bullying amongst their peers; perhaps due to lack of communication and bad relationships at home.

It is of course no surprise that numerous teenagers around the world have sadly ended their own lives because they feel its an 'escape' from their predicaments -- but is there really a solution? Schools that are packed with numerous students from different ethnic backgrounds, and different financial backgrounds, i feel that the 'clash' is likely, its been argued that those who have endured neglect and verbal abuse and bullying from their own parents has resulted in that child/adolescents choice to bully others. It could in fact, be because someone else is bullying them, thus, their need to assert themselves could be because they are truly feeling inferior. What i have noticed from my experience is that in a lot of schools Teachers academic professionals turn a blind eye to what is going on it schools -- and sadly for the students that do not want to speak out end up suffering in silence anyway.

I feel what would put a stop to bullying in schools is if new policies and no-tolerance approaches were put in place. At least if a student would be sanctioned in some way then maybe they would learn that it is not wrong, perhaps this could be a deterrence for them bullying others in the near future. It is such a touchy subject because, parents will often be swift to prove that their child is innocent, when their child could perpetrate bullying. Ultimately, because of the sad outcomes of bullying; suicide of other students or self-harming, substance abuse, it makes it difficult to tackle the issue as a whole. However, this does not mean schools, colleges should not implement strict policies to hinder bullying in schools and make it a good academic environment for everyone.

Growing up i had experience bullying primarily in secondary school as well as primary school. LBC radio station posed the question: Does bullying from a young age effect your adult life. The main response among the callers was that it certainly does. individuals experiencing bullying from a young age can grow up with psychological problems, confidence issues as well as mental health problems.

Statistics show that: More than 16,000 young people are absent from school due to bullying. some go as far to even never return or avoid it as much as they can because they fear the unseen future: What could happen if I go into school today? would be their underlying thoughts, because they are afraid. This shouldn't happen, bullying needs to be taken care of, swiftly and a no-tolerant approach needs to be implemented to ensure everyone in schools can be safe, secure and happy.