This October, step up and help prevent bullying in your community!

Bullying is known as the unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose. 

Bullying can also take place through technology, known as cyberbullying. Examples of cyberbullying include mean text messages or emails, rumors sent by email or posted on social networking sites, and embarrassing pictures, videos, websites, or fake profiles.

90% of students in grades 4-8 report having been harassed or bullied, 28% of students in grades 6-12 experience bullying, and 20% of students in grades 9-12 experience bullying (stopbullying.gov). With over 160,000 kids refusing to go to school each day for fear of being bullied, it is easy to see why the initiative is an important one in our socity today (Nation Education Association).

The National Bullying Prevention Month initiative was created to transform a society that accepts bullying into a society that recognizes that bullying must – and can – be addressed through education and support!

A few important resources to refer to when trying to learn more about bullying prevention include:

• Stomp Out Bullying
• StopBullying.gov
• PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center