Page 29 - Silver Lakes June 2024

TODAYS CHILD

HOW TO DEAL WITH BULLYING BEHAVIOUR

By Nicola Killops

ullying is a pandemic. Bullies bullying at some point. It’s a distorted way not seen, or when they are in public, their
comes in all shapes and sizes, and of paying it forward to regain self-esteem. bullying behaviour is disguised as horseplay
Bsometimes, the act of bullying is so and the victim is too embarrassed to speak
subtle that it is almost impossible for the Ensuring safety at school out, often chuckling along just to fit in.
victim to articulate or pinpoint. It can be The Western Cape Education Department
physical, psychological or emotional. has established a plan of action called the Twenty years ago, if a child was being
Safe Schools Programme, which works with bullied at school, going home at the end of
But what is bullying exactly? On the surface, schools to ensure safe school environments the school day was a reprieve. But in today’s
it’s about children having disagreements needed for successful teaching and world, the bully follows the child into the
or getting into moods and taking this out learning. According to a study conducted sanctity of their private space, thanks to
on a vulnerable child. On a deeper level, by Safe Schools, bullying is rampant in social media. Incidents of cyberbullying
it’s about a child showing a disturbingly South African schools with about 3.2 are on the rise and rise, and unfortunately,
mean streak and going all out to pick on million children being bullied annually. legislation has lagged when it comes to
one or more of his or her peers and to seeking legal recourse.
then ostracise them by teasing, mocking, When surveyed, children defined bullying
humiliating, belittling or physically as both verbal and physical abuse, and Even with the introduction of the Cybercrimes
attacking them. more than 67% of children who had been Act – which aims to reduce and prevent
bullied did not seek help from an adult cybercrime in South Africa – it is difficult to
Why do some children bully others? because they didn’t believe it would do any avoid cyberbullying and to seek help.
Bullying is intentional, repetitive and the good or they feared that reporting it could
result of an imbalance of power. Children make the situation worse. In South Africa, Consequences of bullying
who bully are often deeply insecure and there is a lot of pressure on children and The effects of bullying on the victim’s
need to empower themselves by weakening adults not to be labelled a “snitch”, hence emotional and mental health are far-
others. There are often issues at home that the apathy shown by our society towards reaching. The victim can lose their self-
leave the child desperate for attention, and whistleblowers. esteem and spiral into a state of depression
they lash out elsewhere instead of at the and anxiety. This leads to further
root of their emotional pain. Interestingly, only 4% of kids surveyed said consequences such as substance abuse,
that they knew someone who had been self-mutilation, or even suicide. Sometimes
Delving deeper, it’s often discovered that bullied. This is because bullies can be subtle the victim is forced to move to a different
the bully is or was themself a victim of and often ensure that their actions are school to escape the constant humiliation.

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