Resources on bullying prevention and support
Bullying has become a menace in our society and statistics show that immigrant (minority) children are often at the receiving end of bullying. This involves discrimination and abuse on the basis of immigration status, race, colour, ethnicity, religion and other identity factors . This form of bullying can have significant negative effects on children’s mental health.
Victims report a loss of interest in school activities, more absenteeism, lower-quality schoolwork, lower grades, tardiness and truancy in the best case scenario. And the worse case scenario? Suicide! Although many immigrant children and youths require emotional or psychological support to overcome the effects of bullying, a large proportion of these children do not seek the help that they need.
Below is a curated list of resources on bullying ranging from information on how to prevent bullying to support for bullying victims.
Prevent Bullying
- Promoting Healthy Relationships and Preventing Racial Bullying: This YouTube video is a webinar by Samuel Kim, Queen’s University PhD candidate. He examines racial bullying and how parents can provide youths with evidence-based strategies to stand up to bullying.
- Bullying prevention in schools: This is a study undertaken by the NCPC on the subject of school-based anti-bullying programs. The goals of the study were to identify promising practices from academic research on anti-bullying initiatives; examine the practical applications of anti-bullying interventions within NCPC-sponsored projects; and provide an inventory of accessible anti-bullying tools and products created by NCPC-funded projects that may be applicable elsewhere.
- Promoting Relationships and Preventing Violence: Canada’s Healthy Relationships Hub is a national research and knowledge mobilization hub that brings together researchers and national organizations to build research capacity, assess youth relationship problems including bullying and dating violence, and promote evidence-based programs and effective policies across Canada to address and reduce youth interpersonal violence and promote healthy relationships
- Peaceful Schools International: Peaceful Schools International works with schools around the world to help them become more peaceful places. They do this by working directly with member schools, and by organizing events and taking on international projects that promote peace education. They also provide a range of different services available to any school.
Support for Bullying Victims
- Kids Help Phone: Kids Help Phone is Canada’s only 24/7, national support service. They offer professional counselling, information and referrals and volunteer-led, text-based support to young people in both English and French. Whether by phone, text or through their website, you can connect with them whenever you want, however you want. Their service is completely confidential — you don’t even have to tell them your name if you don’t want to.
- http://www.stopabully.ca/about.html : STOP A BULLY is a registered national charity and Canada-wide anti-bullying program developed in 2009 by B.C. teacher Trevor Knowlton, which allows any student who is a victim or witness of bullying and cyberbullying to be able to safely report the details to school officials. Any student, at any school in Canada, can use this reporting service which is provided at no cost to all students and schools.
- https://www.bullyingcanada.ca/: BullyingCanada is Canada’s only national organization that resolves bullying situations by directly facilitating communication between bullied kids, their tormentors, parents, teachers, school boards, social services, and police.
Interesting podcast on immigrant bullying by @immigrantmuse with a curated list of resources to help immigrant parents prevent bullying or seek support for a victim.
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Immigrant Muse 