Bullying

Bullying is one of the biggest sources of suffering in the world and therefore should not be ignored. It affects people of all ages and occurs everywhere, from home to school, work to public transit. Bullying comes in many forms. Anything done to harm another directly is bullying, such as mean or degrading comments, physical assaults, yelling, humiliation, ostracism, and spreading rumors. Bullying is not only physically and emotionally harmful, it can cause lasting trauma, interfere with a person’s social life and relationships, damage academic and work performance, and teach victims and witnesses to become bullies themselves, perpetuating the cycle of abuse.

The scale of bullying is extremely high and the effects severe, yet very little exists for prevention. Among adults, it is ignored as an issue, except, to a degree, in employee behavior standards at some workplaces. However, even where these standards exist, they are inconsistently enforced. In primary and secondary schools, there is a lot of bullying, and still, very little action taken to mitigate it by the schools. Government regulations to prevent bullying are rare, the exception being demographic-based or sexual harassment in the workplace. Anti-bullying laws are almost always limited to physical assault. Due to lack of pressure from the public, government has not taken action against bullying.

Effective Prevention in Schools

The good news is that there are effective anti-bullying programs, at least for schools. KiVa and Olweus are two reputable such programs that are well-backed by evidence. Both have been implemented in schools around the world with good results. A meta-study of school-based anti-bullying programs has found them to decrease bullying by an average of 20%. These programs are inexpensive, so a 20% improvement makes them cost-effective. Anti-bullying programs save the government money in the long run. People who have attended schools with general social emotional learning programs have better personal conduct and mental health, resulting in savings for the judicial and health care systems. Studies have found these programs to have a positive return on investment.

Bullying is a most ungodly activity. Christ calls us not only to avoid sinning against others, but also to protect others from being harmed. We should be mindful that in preventing bullying, we are helping the bully just as much as the victim, because bullies tarnish their own souls when they victimize others.

Research into bullying prevention, especially outside the school setting is limited. This includes both cultural, institutional, and legal prevention. Academics wishing to expand on this field of knowledge can therefore expect to have a large impact. Advocacy is also desperately needed. There is scant pressure on governments and institutions to mitigate bullying. With the anti-bullying movement so tiny, considerable progress with marginal additional resources is realistic. A number of charities work on bullying prevention. However, it is difficult to estimate their effectiveness, so none were considered for recommendation.