The description of the news article below and the "Afterthought" are the opinions of Deby Ko, a volunteer member of JFCY's PLE Team and JFCY's bullying sub-committee. The information about the proposed Ontario legislation is by JFCY.
Bullying in the News - By JFCY volunteer Deby Ko
Current news indicates how severe bullying can be and how bullying can lead to terrifying results. In Fall 2011, the Toronto Sun reported that Mitchell Wilson committed
suicide. Mitchell was 11-years-old and
he had muscular dystrophy, a disease which weakens muscles over time. Mitchell was heavily bullied.
Mitchell’s challenges began when a
12-year-old mugged him. When his
attacker was arrested, his friends started following Mitchell home and bullying
him on why he was bringing the young offender to court.
With the taunts and bullying, Mitchell no
longer did the same amount of exercise he had in the past. soem could argue that this made his illness develop faster, so that
he had to use a wheelchair all of the time. His mental state was also extremely
vulnerable. The Sun described the changes in Mitchell’s mental state: “Mitchell
stopped sleeping and began suffering anxiety attacks. He told his family he’d
rather kill himself than go back to school where he was being bullied.”
Despite being counseled and assigned a
protector at school, Mitchell no longer was the same person he used to be. He
had ongoing stresses because of his illness and because his court date against
his attacker was approaching. Before his
first day of grade 6, Mitchell ended his life.
For more information on the article please
visit:
Afterthought - by JFCY volunteer Deby Ko
It’s terrifying how physical attacks
followed by verbal attacks can lead to such traumatic results. Despite being
counseled by his school and accompanied by a protector, Mitchell could no longer
act the way he used to. Sometimes people think that kids need to face bullying
on their own, but it is important for kids who have been bullied to talk with
someone about the situation. This can
help to relieve some anxiety. People you can turn to may be friends, family,
teachers or other people that you trust. If you don’t want to turn to others, you can
try writing your feelings on a blog or diary entry, either to help other people
who are going through the same thing as you online or just to relieve some
anxiety you may have. Joining extracurricular activities can also help you
confront your fears when you have more friends by your side listening to any
problems you may have.
If you have bullied someone, you have to
know that what you have done can have a lasting effect on someone and that
there may be long-lasting consequences for you, too.
School bullying and the law - by JFCY
Every province in Canada has the
power to make laws about education in that province. In Ontario,
the Education Act applies to public and separate (Catholic) schools. This year, the Ontario government introduced a bill to
change the Education Act. A bill is a
proposed law that must be debated by government and voted on. If a majority of the elected representatives
to a province’s legislature vote for a bill, then it becomes law. The bill that the Ontario government is proposing is supposed
to help address bullying in school. The
goal of the law would be to help make sure that students feel safe in school,
because all students deserve to feel safe and included. Feeling safe at school is also important to
being able to succeed in school. The introduction
to the bill, which is called a preamble, talks specifically about making
schools more inclusive for LGBTTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered,
transsexual, two-spirited, intersexed, queer and questioning) people, because a
lot of bullying in school is based on someone's perceived sexual identity. Another important part of the bill is that it
recognizes that both people who bully and people who are bullied need to be
supported in making good choices and developing healthy relationships.
So what will the bill do if passed?
The bill defines bullying. Legal definitions are important because
people depend on them when they are trying to understand what is included in a
law. For example, one part of the bill
says that school boards must consider expelling a student who has previously been
suspended for bullying. Whether or not a
student’s behaviour is classified as bullying according to the definition in
the law could make a difference to what consequences the student faces for his
or her actions.
The bill also makes school boards and
schools responsible for working to prevent bullying. For example, schools have to include rules to
help prevent bullying in their codes of conduct. School boards will be required to have
guidelines and policies on a wide range of topics relating to bullying and
other forms of inappropriate behaviour. Some
examples of the guidelines and policies that are required include which
consequences should be considered for students who engage in inappropriate
behaviour, what strategies can be used to prevent bullying, and what training
relating to bullying should be provided to teachers and staff at a school.
Finally, the bill also proclaims Bullying
Awareness and Prevention Week as the third week in November, and it requires
school boards to support students who want to lead activities or organizations that
“promote gender equity, anti-racism, the awareness and understanding of, and
respect for, people with disabilities or the awareness and understanding of,
and respect for, people of all sexual orientations and gender identities.”
Bullying Resources
If you have specific legal
questions relating to bullying, please contact JFCY at 416.920.1633
If you are a victim of
bullying and need support, check out some of these organizations:
- Kids Help Phone at 1 800 668 6868 or on www.kidshelpphone.ca
- LGBT Youth line at 1.800.268.9688 or on www.youthline.ca
If you want to find out
more about bullying and how you can help raise awareness and prevent bullying, you can look at some of these websites:
- Web Aware on www.bewebaware.ca
- Canadian Safe Schools Network on www.canadiansafeschools.com
- http://www.definetheline.ca/
- www.bullying.org
- www.wiredsafety.org
- www.stopcyberbullying.org
There is a list of books and other resources on blocking and dealing
with cyber-bullying as well as other forms of bullying on this website: http://www.cheo.on.ca/En/bullying
Here
at JFCY, the
cyber-bullying sub-committee wants to know all about your thoughts on
this
post. Please let us know if this post is helpful and/or informative and
what
you would like to see in future posts. Post your comments, questions,
requests
and ideas as they are extremely valuable to us and will help us better
understand what to write about in our next post. Our comments are
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