Each spring, students of all ages in Weyburn and at numerous schools around the country don pink shirts, some with anti-bullying slogans, and they march down the streets of our cities and towns in protest against that most resilient of thorns of attending school: bullying.
And in the intervening weeks and months, the sad and tragic stories start coming out, again, of children of all ages: 17, 15, 12 even as young as 10 and seven years of age, despair for their very lives and end their life because the bullying has reached an intolerable point in their lives where they simply can't take the abuse anymore.
Then spring rolls around again, and once more children and teachers and some adults pull on the pink shirts and show their public indignation against the evils of bullying.
Raising awareness of bullying is a good and noble thing - but what can really be done to put a stop to bullying? Can bullying ever be eradicated, or must we continue to see young people throw away their lives in despair because no one can help them?
Sadly, some adults believe bullying isn't really much of a problem, if at all - but any student from any school can tell you the real truth of the matter. In a study in the Journal of Pediatrics, one in seven Canadian children between the ages of 11 and 16 have been bullied. Another study by a Canadian university found that 50 per cent of local children reported being bullied in the previous month, and 45 per cent of the children do not feel safe when they go to school.
With the advent of cyberbullying, the problem merely continues on, with one in four school students bullied online, and moreover, less than half of cyberbullying is reported.
There have been various approaches developed to try and deal with bullying, and according to the Public Safety Canada website, an emerging consensus is that a "whole-school" approach is the most effective means of curtailing bullying, where there is strong adult leadership, awareness and involvement, as well as involvement of other stakeholders, including parents, guidance counsellors, teachers, mental health professionals and students.
One thing is for certain: inaction is not an option. The community must take ownership of the problem, and parents need to get involved; after all, it's for the sake of our children and their safety.
