"Bullicide" becoming more prevalent among bullied students
by James Munoz
KENS-5 Reporter
Dr. Roxanne Henkin is a professor at The University of Texas at San Antonio who believes if any place should be a safe hate-free zone, it's the school classroom. While most bullying takes place at the high school level, it can even happen at a day care.
Henkin said the lyrics 'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me' are not true. "Sticks and stones can break your bones but words can break both your body and your spirit," she said.
With an estimated 160,000 students missing school every day in the United States for fear of being bullied, Henkin said it's time for a movement to confront and end bullying in schools.
"We've been giving it lip-service for a long time, but there is a ground swell of support to end it now. Until every child feels safe in school, no one is really secure and protected," Henkin said.
For the first time ever, the U.S. Department of Education is addressing school bullying, and President Barack Obama recently said it's time to have safe places.
Henkin said one big reason to investigate bullying is the fact that most men in prison admit to being bullies in school and being bullied themselves.
"Often the bully has been bullied in some area of his life. However, not every bully has been bullied," Henkin said. "There are some studies that show that students actually get attention for being the bully and can actually become more popular."
The term "bullicide" is becoming more and more prevalent with the suicides of several young people across the United States who may have been pushed over the limit due to bullying. But bullying can even happen among adults and in the workplace.
"The first thing is always safety and getting out of the situation. Adults have more life experience and skills, but still can find themselves in difficult situations. Depending on where they work, there may be policies in place to protect them," Henkin said.
Many parents teach their children self-defense, but Henkin said that's not necessarily a solution.
"It can be, especially for victims that are constantly picked on, but it's just one strategy out of many," Henkin said. "A victim needs to tell an adult and get to safety first. The victim needs to tell his teachers and parents and they need to be advocates for him. There has to be follow-through and consequences for the bully."
Henkin tells the story of a little girl who was bullied so badly in a classroom she stopped talking. In extreme cases like this an adult should investigate the situation.
"Both the adults and the students need to make changes. The adults need to make sure that they have safe schools where every child is protected and can thrive," Henkin said. "They need to institute programs like I advocate where they look at social justice literature and identify ways that students can be allies for the victims."
"Everyone is affected by bullying including the bystanders, and it's important to give students strategies where they can make a positive difference."
Dr. Henkin recommends the following websites for people interested in learning more about creating Hate Free Zones.
www.tolerance.org/bullied
www.antibullying.net
www.wcwonline.org/bullying/index.html
www.passion-4.net/bullying/index.shtml
www.cyberbullying.us/
www.dontlaugh.org
www.groundspark.org
www.roxannehenkin.blogspot.com/
www.roxannehenkin.com/
KENS-5 Reporter
Dr. Roxanne Henkin is a professor at The University of Texas at San Antonio who believes if any place should be a safe hate-free zone, it's the school classroom. While most bullying takes place at the high school level, it can even happen at a day care.
Henkin said the lyrics 'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me' are not true. "Sticks and stones can break your bones but words can break both your body and your spirit," she said.
With an estimated 160,000 students missing school every day in the United States for fear of being bullied, Henkin said it's time for a movement to confront and end bullying in schools.
"We've been giving it lip-service for a long time, but there is a ground swell of support to end it now. Until every child feels safe in school, no one is really secure and protected," Henkin said.
For the first time ever, the U.S. Department of Education is addressing school bullying, and President Barack Obama recently said it's time to have safe places.
Henkin said one big reason to investigate bullying is the fact that most men in prison admit to being bullies in school and being bullied themselves.
"Often the bully has been bullied in some area of his life. However, not every bully has been bullied," Henkin said. "There are some studies that show that students actually get attention for being the bully and can actually become more popular."
The term "bullicide" is becoming more and more prevalent with the suicides of several young people across the United States who may have been pushed over the limit due to bullying. But bullying can even happen among adults and in the workplace.
"The first thing is always safety and getting out of the situation. Adults have more life experience and skills, but still can find themselves in difficult situations. Depending on where they work, there may be policies in place to protect them," Henkin said.
Many parents teach their children self-defense, but Henkin said that's not necessarily a solution.
"It can be, especially for victims that are constantly picked on, but it's just one strategy out of many," Henkin said. "A victim needs to tell an adult and get to safety first. The victim needs to tell his teachers and parents and they need to be advocates for him. There has to be follow-through and consequences for the bully."
Henkin tells the story of a little girl who was bullied so badly in a classroom she stopped talking. In extreme cases like this an adult should investigate the situation.
"Both the adults and the students need to make changes. The adults need to make sure that they have safe schools where every child is protected and can thrive," Henkin said. "They need to institute programs like I advocate where they look at social justice literature and identify ways that students can be allies for the victims."
"Everyone is affected by bullying including the bystanders, and it's important to give students strategies where they can make a positive difference."
Dr. Henkin recommends the following websites for people interested in learning more about creating Hate Free Zones.
www.tolerance.org/bullied
www.antibullying.net
www.wcwonline.org/bullying/index.html
www.passion-4.net/bullying/index.shtml
www.cyberbullying.us/
www.dontlaugh.org
www.groundspark.org
www.roxannehenkin.blogspot.com/
www.roxannehenkin.com/
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