Are we winning the battle against bullying? (Live Chat)

---

Guests and Links       Download mp3 (right click and choose 'Save Target As')    

Listen here:

---

Introduction

Bullying is something that has been going on longer than children have been gathered together in groups for schooling ...but there has been a renewed and re-energized interest in finding solutions to combat bullying. Recently several high-profile cases and some tragic teen suicides have pushed the issue to the front of public attention ...and lawmakers have been responding. As many as 40 U.S. states and several Canadian provinces are in the process of considering or enacting laws related to bullying. There have also been calls to criminalize the behaviour and to sentence bullies to jail time.

What do you think? Is there an epidemic as some have suggested? Are children just mimicking what they see around them in adult society? Is there a general decline in respect that people have for others? What about our plugged-in lives: are social media and new tech gadgets making it easier to bully with impunity?

How can new laws help? Do they need to ensure that incidents of bullying are reported and taken seriously ...or do they have to offer more ....such as the threat of penalties and punishments to people caught bullying? What about lower-key approaches such as simply making sure children are fully informed and aware of the cruel consequences of picking-on or threatening each other? Where is the front line in preventing bullying ...children, parents, teacher, school officials, politicians? Who bears the first responsibility in preventing bullying?

We also want to hear your stories. Have you been bullied ...or have you been a bully? If you are a parent, have you had to deal with your child's school about the issue ...what was that like? If you're a teacher or principal ...what are your options ...and how difficult is it to prevent bullying or stop it once it begins? What sort of assistance would you like to see?

Our topic today: "What is the best approach to preventing bullying?"

I'm Rex Murphy ...on CBC Radio One ...and on Sirius satellite radio channel 159 ...this is Cross Country Checkup.

---

Guests

• Debra J. Pepler
  Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology, LaMarsh Centre for Child and Youth Research, York University.
  
  
• A. Wayne MacKay
  Professor of Law, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University and Chair of the Nova Scotia Task Force on Bullying and Cyberbullying.
  
  
• Jennifer Shapka
  Associate Professor of Education at the University of British Columbia.
  
  
• Anne Lagacé Dowson
  Montreal-based broadcaster and director of the Tolerance Foundation.
  
  

---

Links

CBC.ca

• CBC News Special: BullyProof
• CBC Backgrounder (Mar. 23, 2005)
• Cyberbullying task force releases N.S. report
• 7 Canadian high school students who stood their ground

National Post

• Is a new-found focus on the bullying 'epidemic' misidentifying the problem?
• Latest defence against school bully: a bodyguard
• Mary Rogan: Tyler Clementi's death is more complicated than at first glance

Globe and Mail

• Schools teach empathy as a way to combat bullying
• The best defence against bullying

Maclean's

• Strict anti-bullying laws could actually make matters worse
• Bullying victims are taking schools to court
• Bullying 2.0 is more like a drama class

Montreal Gazette

• What you see in Bully is upsetting, but it's not the whole story, by Anne Lagacé Dowson
• Ending bullying begins with adults

Vancouver Sun

• Cyberbullying needs its own treatment strategies

Calgary Herald

• Editorial: Long way to go on bullying

Halifax Chronicle Herald

• The Facebook bullying case and the threat to open courts
• Cyberbullying bill to proceed unchanged
• Government won't stop schoolyard bullies with more studies
• Bullying merits major offensive

London Review of Books

• Diary, by Andrew O'Hagan

PREVnet.ca

• Promoting Relationships and Eliminating Violence