We can put a stop to bullying

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A 15-year-old boy at Santana High School in California opened fire on his classmates, the most recent in a rash of such incidents attributed to unchecked bullying.

Bullying is now considered a criminal act and is referred to as "harassment." On Feb. 21, Dilico Ojibway Child and Family Services hosted two presentations on understanding and addressing the problems of bullying.

York University's Dr. Debra Pepler was the keynote speaker.

Pepler, a professor of psychology and director of the LaMarsh Centre for Research on Violence and Conflict Resolution, has been working to understand and combat bullying for more than 10 years.

She is currently examining aggression and victimization among adolescents, paying particular attention to the problems they develop during their lives. She was honored for this research with the Contribution to Knowledge Award from the Psychology Foundation of Canada. Her research can be found at www.yorku.ca/research/lamarsh/articles.

"There are a lot of myths in our society around bullying," said Pepler, "such as it is a normal part of growing up. Ignore it or push the bully back. We now know these tactics don't work. Bullying patterns only escalate unless they are changed."

She explained that the bully gains power with each bullying act, whereas the victim increasingly loses power. This power imbalance must be broken before the problem can be solved and it may involve bringing in a parent, teacher, mediator, or the police.

"Bullying needs to be recognized as a community problem and not just a school problem," she said.

Many children who bully are also victimized.

"It is important to promote a child's strengths so they can gain status in ways other than bullying. And families must establish warm open relationships so that children feel safe in telling parents they are having problems with bullying."

Dilico's executive director Joyce Pelletier said the organization is "trying to educate educators and the community about the various types of bullying.

"Bullying is not just physical. It also involves isolating the victim or verbally attacking them about their clothes, their race, their sexual orientation, or any number of things. It is a form of aggression and early prevention is the key," she said.