Bullying is about the abuse of power

1. Bullying is about the abuse of power

2. Children who bully abuse their power to hurt others, deliberately and repeatedly.

3. Boys in grades 6 through 9 who bullied others were 4 times more likely to be convicted of at least one crime by age 24.

4. 60% of former bullies had committed at least one crime and 35% had committed 3 or more crimes

5. Adults who were bullied as children maintain vivid memories of the events throughout their lifetime

6. In cases of extreme bullying, some tormented victims have resorted to violence toward themselves or others

7. 15% of 13 -18 year olds said they have been cyberbullied online

8. Only 35% of teens who had been cyberbullied told their parents about their experience

9. Only 9% of teens who have been cyberbullied told a teacher

10. Each day 160,000 children in the U.S. stay home from school for fear of being bullied

11. Cyberbullying victims were almost twice as likely to have attempted suicide than youth who had not been cyberbullied

12. Gay and lesbian students are common victims of schoolyard bullies

13. Studies show being bullied is related to poor psychosocial adjustment –increased depression, anxiety

14. Peers intervene in only 11-19% of all bullying incidents

15. Where peers intervened, 57% of the interventions were effective – bullying stopped within 10 seconds

16. Teenaged girls (44%) are more likely to experience online bullying than teenaged boys (28%)

17. More than one-third (36%) of teens have had mean, threatening, or embarrassing things said about them online

18. Roughly 20% of teens admit to participating in “sexting”

19. 22% of teen girls and 20% of teen boys have sent nude or semi-nude pictures of themselves over the Internet or their phones

20. Being a victim of bullying frequently increases the likelihood of experiencing suicidal thoughts by 10% in boys and by more than 20% in girls.

21. When young people have strong connections with adults, they are more resilient.

22. Bullying gets worse when adults ignored what was going on, told the bullied student to stop tattling, or told the student to solve the problem themselves.

23. One good friend can make a crucial difference to children who are bullied, teased or harassed.

24. Teaching norms for respectful exchange is simply part of the job of teaching young people to participate in a civil discussion.

25. The first step in stopping antigay speech is talking about it.

26. Administrators and system leaders need to fill in gaps in their knowledge and gain skills in responding to homophobic speech.

27. Administrators and school system leaders need to regularly remind teachers, staff and colleagues of the importance of speaking up to interrupt harassment.

28. Faculty cannot change the culture of incivility alone—they need the help of the students.