BCIFV home > Media Releases > May 2, 2002

For Immediate Release: May 2, 2002
Contact: Penny Bain, phone: 604-669-7055 or 1 877-755-7055 or
pbain@bcifv.org or www.bcifv.org

Opinion:
Bullying: A Unique Problem Calling for Unique Solutions

The unprecedented arrest of a 12-year-old boy in North Vancouver on bullying charges raises interesting issues. Clearly, bullies must be held accountable; if they are not, there is a significant risk that their behaviour will continue and escalate. However, it is questionable whether the educational, social-service, legal, and correctional systems we have in place are appropriate or even adequate ways of dealing with bullying.

Some say that bullying has and will always exist. Not very long ago, the same was said about spousal assault. Yet as understanding grew regarding the plights of victims and the broader ramifications of spousal violence, a growing number of people began working toward change. In the process, they found that appropriate institutions, systems, and knowledge for dealing with spousal assault did not exist. There was a need for transition houses and second-stage housing; for appropriate laws and policies, as well as police officers and court officials trained to implement them; and for counseling for victims, their children, and abusers themselves. And at every step, there was and still is a need for research that helps us unravel and respond to this issue with the goal of shaping a less violent future. The same can be said of many violence issues we now take for granted - child abuse, sexual abuse, sexual harassment - and the same can also be said of bullying.

On one level, the arrest of the North Vancouver boy signals that our growing understanding of this issue has reached the same critical point once reached regarding these other violence issues. Through media coverage of the sometimes tragic impacts of bullying, books and magazine articles about protecting children from bullies and what makes children into bullies, and increasing implementation of school-based anti-bullying programs, public awareness has grown. The boy's arrest indicates that we are no longer prepared to tolerate bullying as a rite of passage.

That's a good first step. What we need now are research, legislation, and interventions that allow us to deal with bullying for what it is - a unique kind of violence that calls for unique solutions. What might those solutions look like?

• Far too often, when parents and kids do as they have been told and report bullying to school officials, they are given a list of pertinent programs the school has in place, and told there is nothing else that can be done. But while these programs are a good start, they are of limited effect if not accompanied by individual attention to both bullies and their victims. This attention is best administered by specialized support staff with training and experience in tailoring programs to individual needs. Unfortunately, because they do not deliver education per se, support staff are often the first to be laid off. Yet if we are serious about responding to bullying, we must agree that salaries for support workers are more than paid for in money saved and suffering prevented.



• No matter how effective an early intervention program is, some children will resist help and go on to commit more serious acts of aggression. When police involvement becomes unavoidable, most currently available tools - diversion, a judge's warning, probation, detention - constitute either over- or under-reactions for the majority of young offenders in question. However in many cases, diversion to restorative justice programs has as high as a 95 percent success rate, as measured by the number of participants who never re-offend. This leaves only the most recalcitrant five percent to go through the more expensive justice and corrections systems. There is no reason not to try these programs with bullies. Again, if we are serious about this problem, diversion programs that are currently in place in many communities must not fall under the axe of budget cuts.



• No matter how effectively we respond to bullying, the most effective remediation will always be prevention. The key to prevention is knowledge, and knowledge is gained through research. Yet as much as research into this poorly understood phenomenon is needed, it is another thing that is often pronounced redundant in times of belt-tightening. It was once widely believed that typical bullies came from abusive homes - and this is sometimes true. But some bullies come from loving homes whose parents are mystified, horrified, and challenged by their children's actions, while others are victims who have finally decided to fight back. It was also believed that there was a typical victim - a smart, skinny kid with glasses and geeky clothes. But research shows that it is less appearance than behaviour that singles kids out as victims, and much of that behaviour appears to be learned.

What can we do with information like this? Is there new parenting knowledge that would help, or old parenting knowledge that could be more widely disseminated? If so, through what systems - and how will this be funded?

The arrest of the 12-year-old in North Vancouver is probably not the best solution for this or any other case of bullying. Yet it provides reason for optimism because it indicates that we finally perceive bullying as a problem with serious long-term implications for all concerned. It offers yet another signal that all is not right in the life of the child. And it gives us yet an opportunity to expand our efforts to eliminate violence in our families, our communities, and ultimately our world.

For more information, contact Penny Bain, Executive Director of the BC Institute Against Family Violence at 669-7055 or
1 877-755-7055, pbain@bcifv.org or www.bcifv.org.

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