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2010 Board of Trustees
Deborah Chase,
Gilmanton
Janice Fitzpatrick,
Candia
Raymond Gagnon,
Claremont
Sen. Peggy Gilmour RN,
Hollis
Rep. Anne Grassie,
Rochester
Courtney H.G. Herz, Esq.,
Secretary, Hopkinton
Peirce Hunter, M.D.,
Chair, Bow
Kristina Ickes, MBA,
Candia
Audrey Knight, MSN, RN,
Hopkinton
Sen. Bette Lasky,
Nashua
Robert MacGowan,
Webster
Rep. Betsy McKinney,
Treasurer, Londonderry
Lauren Noether, Senior
Assistant Attorney Gen.,
Concord
Malcolm Smith, PhD, CFLE,
Durham
Brenda Tibbetts, Vice Chair, Colebrook | |
2010 Staff
2010 Interns
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 Dear Friends:
June is upon us and school is about to let out. For many children, Summer vacation means playing, sleeping in and exploring new things. For others it means escaping harassment and violence otherwise known as bullying. We have decided to dedicate this issue of our enewsletter to the topic of bullying. A new law goes into effect in July and many students and parents are hopeful that it will make school a safer place next fall.
So why do we care about bullying when our mission is to prevent child abuse and neglect? In our view, whenever there is intentional harm to a child - by an adult or a peer - it is child abuse. We believe that child abuse, in all of its forms, is preventable and we all play a role. A big thank you goes out to the UNH Cooperative Extension who just conducted a series of Train the Trainer workshops on Understanding Bullying. We have one staff and two volunteers who are part of the group of over 300 trained individuals. You'll find articles from each of them in this issue.
Become informed, take action, inform others and together we can create a safe state where all children can live free from harm. Thank you for doing your part.
See you soon,
Keryn
Keryn Bernard-Kriegl
Executive Director
Maximize your dollar!
For every dollar you donate to the New Hampshire Children's Trust Fund, we are able to leverage federal dollars through our Community Based Child Abuse Prevention contract. This means your dollar goes farther to help us build safe, stable and nurturing families and communities. |
Gay and Gendered Bullying Largely Unaddressed
Article by Beth Haywood-Niler, Ph.D.
Bullying in schools has been around as long as schools themselves, but efforts to stop bullying intensified after the Columbine school shootings, which, like most school murders by students, were perpetrated by victims of bullies. New Hampshire recently passed HB 1523, which revised the statute on Pupil Safety and Violence to include psychological and emotional harassment as well as cyber-bullying in its anti-bullying programming.
Unfortunately, two fairly recent meta-analyses of research studies on bullying (Ferguson, 2007; Merrill 2008) show that anti-bullying programs do little to decrease bullying. Some programs are very basic and may consist of little more than a school-wide assembly, some programs are too general, and some give unrealistic advice or gloss over the fact that it is very risky socially for kids to try to intervene to stop bullying.
Anti-bullying programs that aim to help the victim or at-risk students have been somewhat more successful than those that try to get the bullies to stop. These programs help victims increase confidence and feelings of competence and encourage "letting [the insults] roll off your back." A Boston Globe article discussing an anti-bullying workshop for middle school students suggested that victims were almost as likely as bullies to agree with the statement "Some people deserve to be picked on." Helping empower at-risk students is part of the solution.
Recently some anti-bullying programs have focused on getting bystanders to intervene with or avoid encouraging the bully, reasoning that without a supportive audience, the bully's negative behaviors would decrease. These programs promote a community model of everyone having some responsibility - and the power to stop - bullying in their schools. They suggest possible bystander behaviors for different bullying scenarios. So far programs have targeted bystanders in general, although emerging research suggests that it may be highly beneficial to target the bully's immediate sidekicks.
One important factor that may contribute to the ineffectiveness of these programs is that many of them target the wrong behaviors. In the past, many programs focused on physical bullying, while it is the emotional and verbal harassment that is the most damaging and prevalent (and caused the suicides of Carl Walker-Hoover and Phoebe Prince in the past year in Massachusetts). Furthermore, most anti-bullying programs do not address "gendered harassment," which includes sexual and homophobic harassment.
It was incessant taunting about being "gay" that led to Carl Walker-Hoover's suicide, and constant slurs about being a slut that tormented Phoebe Prince. Elizabeth Meyer, who writes a Gender and Schooling blog for Psychology Today, noted that sexual orientation is the most common subject of harassment, followed by race, body size, and gender presentation. However, school staff are least likely to interrupt teasing or taunting based on sexual orientation or gender presentation. In middle school, the range of acceptable (masculine) behaviors for boys is very restricted, and anything out of that range puts a boy at risk for teasing about being "gay."
A principal in Minneapolis, who had noticed the prevalence of anti-gay slurs in his school, implemented an anti-bullying program that focused on gender-based harassment. Parents complained to the school board, however, that the program was teaching different things (about the acceptability of gays) at school than the kids were learning at home.
An online writer, responding to a news story about a middle school boy being sexually assaulted in a school locker room with a broomstick, suggested that the bullies had the right idea, to "change the boy's sexually ambiguous ways," but didn't agree with the method, writing "we need constructive bullying."
The pervasiveness of negative attitudes towards gays and persons who do not have gender-typical behaviors suggests that anti-bullying programs must focus on these issues, both with staff and students. Calling someone "gay" or "queer" should receive the same response from teachers as an ethnic or racial slur. Although neither "gay" nor "queer" are slurs in and of themselves, it is clear when they are being used as such, and anti-bullying programs need to use sexual orientation and gender-presentation examples in their curricula. |
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Victim Blaming: Where Does it End?
Article by Alyssa Azotea, MS
A child enters their school in the morning, a seemingly normal and mundane task. The difference is, this child will face a day of humiliation and fear. Another child enters, and will take all of the pain and anger they are feeling and use this to hurt another child. Meanwhile, this is largely unnoticed among other children, staff, parents and administration. Silence is comfortable.
Within my Doctoral studies, most of my research has surrounded trauma and addictions. However, my interest in bullying surfaced, as I began hearing multiple stories of children being victimized by peers in schools and community settings, and a phenomenon so often discussed by survivors of domestic and sexual violence - victim blaming. The stories were so similar, and the pain so real. I have conducted interviews for this article; however, I will respect confidentiality and maintain anonymity by changing names.
"Suzie would come home crying everyday. She would never tell me why. She often complained of headaches and said the nurse told her she was fine and needed to go back to class. One day, Suzie came home with cuts on her knee, and said someone in class had pushed her down. When I approached the teacher, she simply told me she was not outside and had no idea this had happened. That was the last time I heard anything regarding the incident."
 According to Shea (2007), signs that a child is being bullied may include fearfulness, disturbances in sleep, a sudden reluctance to attend school, and somatic symptoms such as headaches and stomach aches. Often children miss school because of these complaints, or disclose the pain to teachers or nurses. These complaints are often dismissed.
"Jeff has always been such a great student, always paying attention in school. He's quiet, but I have tried to teach him how to stand up for himself. It felt like nobody was taking my child seriously when he spoke of other children teasing him and taking his lunch. Finally, I taught him how to stand up for himself. The teacher did not like this either, because she spoke to me after school one day. I'm wondering, if he can't stand up for himself at school, who is going to? Is he supposed to just let it happen, to keep the peace?"
"Amber can be a handful. I know that. She has a mouth, and I am working on this with her. However, when this was used as an excuse by her teacher as to why she was being pushed around, I was offended. Is that an excuse for her to be shoved to the ground, pinched, and teased? She is overweight, but this has nothing to do with the kind of girl she is. If only the other kids would take the time to get to know her. It almost seemed to me that the teacher was using her own prejudice against my daughter, and blaming her for the way she is treated. I have thought of removing my daughter from the school, but is it any better somewhere else?"
Blaming the victim is not uncommon, especially among boys and victims of direct bullying. It does not take long before a negative atmosphere develops within the School, abundant with victim blaming, providing even more opportunity for bullying to take place (Gini, 2008).
"Greg asked me one day if he had to go back to school. Unaware of the problem, it seemed to me an odd request. After telling me of frequent laughter and name calling from another child (Greg has a constant limp), I asked if he had mentioned this to the teacher. He told me it didn't matter, as this child will only go to the principal's office, and that he enjoys this time out of class. He gets to color and play with toys, and then he returns to class and continues teasing Greg".
"Life seemed to be so open to Emily. She would embrace every moment. Athletic, smart, friendly, she was just amazing. Out of nowhere, things were different. Emily began acting up, just acting - different. There were minor physical signs, nothing that jumped out at me. It took a very long time before I knew something was not right, and even longer for me to realize what was happening. Her friend, Jada, could be so kind and sincere. But, then there were days she would boss Emily around, and make her feel terrible about herself. She would terrorize Emily to the point that she would do almost anything to avoid making her angry. Sometimes Emily even got in trouble for things she did, without anyone knowing that Jada had been pushing her to do these things. When I finally approached the administration, the excuses were amazing. I was told that Emily was not always to be believed, that Emily was still friends with Jada, and that Emily had not told of this to anyone at the school. Is nobody seeing what I'm seeing?"
According to Mishna & Alaggia (2005), a child often has a very difficult time disclosing incidents of bullying. This may be because they have grown to feel powerless, or that they are nervous the adult interventions will not be effective. The case of Emily and Jada is common, as children have the same need as adults do, to belong and to be accepted. Victims of domestic violence often struggle, in addition to other reasons, because there is a conflict of emotion. One day the abuser may be hateful, and the next, they may offer the love and support the victim needs on the most basic level. This is a normal human emotion.
This conflict is so similar for victims of peer victimization, or bullying. The friendship may be filled with a mixture of emotion, making it difficult for the victim to disclose the bullying. They do not want the friendship to end, just the fear and pain.
Lack of truthfulness is another concern for educators. If a child is not truthful about one incident, maybe they are not truthful about anything. Perhaps, they are looking for someone to believe them. Perhaps, they are seeking approval and attention because they are feeling so out of control, and they perceive a lack of concern.
The issue of bullying is serious and is becoming epidemic. Changes in recent policy, programs and laws are beginning to take place. However, it is the individuals within the schools and community that will decide the effectiveness of these changes. Victim blaming - when does it begin, and more importantly, when will it end?
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Cyber-Bullying: The New Reality
Article by Valerie Quinn
Child abuse is often thought of as adult perpetrated abuse. Child initiated abuse, which our society identifies as bullying, is one of the most prevalent types of child abuse. More than one third of all youth in our country are victimized by peers and suffer psychological and emotional abuse on a regular basis.
As a doctoral student in clinical psychology, I have chosen to do my dissertation research on cyber bullying. This topic is significant to me because of my work here at the New Hampshire Children's Trust Fund to prevent child abuse and neglect. Cyber bullying is a fairly recent phenomena and research on cyber bullying is in the early stages. As cyber bullying is often overlooked as a serious form of child abuse, I believe education on the topic is crucial for the prevention of child abuse.
 Cyber bullying can be defined as using the internet or other digital technologies such as cellular phones to intentionally harass or inflict harm towards another. Electronic means by which cyber bullying can take place include e-mail, instant messaging, chat rooms, websites, social networking sites, blogs, and text messaging. Many children suffer variable and harmful effects that result from cyber bullying. Students who are victims of cyber bullying often report increased sadness, anxiety, fear, and hopelessness. Victims also tend to have social skill deficits, increased substance use, delinquent behavior, decreased concentration, increased school absences, detentions, or suspension, and are more likely to bring a weapon to school. Those who are harassed online may lose friends, feel humiliated, become socially secluded, or lose trust in others.
 Perhaps the most serious danger of cyber bullying is the fact that victims may be at an increased risk for suicide. In one study done by Cassidy, Jackson, and Brown (2009), 14 individuals surveyed (n=355) reported suicidal thoughts resulting from cyber bullying. Although other factors may be at play, it is important to note that these students isolated cyber attacks as the main factor behind their suicidal ideation. One recent case in the media has been the suicide of 15-year old Phoebe Prince, who hanged herself in January 2010 after incessant bullying. Bullies victimized Prince using Facebook, text message, and schoolyard bullying. Other recent bully-related suicides include 11-year old Carl Walker Hoover, also from Massachusetts, and 11-year Jaheem Herrera from Georgia.
One concerning aspect of cyber bullying is its potential to escalate into a vicious cycle. Research has shown that many youth are both cyber bullies and cyber victims. Individuals are more likely to become a cyber bully when they have been victimized by another student through traditional bullying (face-to-face schoolyard bullying) or cyber bullying. These youth who are victims and then go on to become cyber bullies are known as "cyberbully victims". Approximately 75% of youth involved in cyber bullying are cyberbully-victims.
Who Cares?
The need for education and prevention of cyber bullying includes targeting all parties involved: students, educators, and parents. Information on cyber bullying is applicable to school districts because student's academic performance decreases when they are victimized by cyber bullying. School performance suffers for both victims andcyber-bully victims, making the need to understand the cycle and risk factors even more compelling. Many victims report that online harassment affects their ability to concentrate on schoolwork. Additionally, risky and dangerous behaviors at school are more common in cyber bully-victims. Cyber bullying research is important for schools because intervening in the online harassment cycle could decrease problem behaviors at school and increase school performance.
 Not only is it important for school constituencies to be informed about the impact of cyber bullying, but also school personnel should be aware that online bullying is often instigated on school grounds. Most cyber bullying occurs outside of the school setting, but is often a result of traditional bullying at school. Therefore, school faculty must be aware of the risk factors (such as a drive for retaliation or social anxiety), which may cause victims to perpetrate back. When school personnel do not intervene, they may actually be passively participating in the bullying as a bystander. From this standpoint, it is incumbent upon faculty to become more educated about the risk factors and warning signs and more aware of ways to intervene effectively. By not intervening, they are participating in the perpetuation of the cycle.
Even though some youth do not confide in their parents, 57% of those surveyed reported they would tell a parent if they were a victim of cyber bullying. Therefore, it is important for parents to be involved in cyber bully education and intervene in the cycle. As youth often confide in their peers, it may also be useful to educate children and adolescents about risk factors and cyberbully-victims characteristics. They may then be able to combat current cyber bullying, prevent future bullying, and assist peers who are victimized.
Those who work with children and families, therefore, have an obligation to increase their knowledge of cyber bullying and effective strategies to keep children safe from harm. At the Children's Trust, we believe that all children deserve to be raised in safe, stable and nurturing families and communities and that we all play a role in keeping children safe.
For more information on cyber bullying and for the resources used to write this article, please contact the New Hampshire Children's Trust Fund.
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HB 1523: New State Law on Bullying
Takes effect on July 1, 2010
 HB 1523, revising the pupil safety and violence protection act, has passed both the NH House and Senate. The new law highlights the inclusion of cyberbullying, emotional, physical and psychological violence, and specifies timeframes and requirements for local policy development, training and reporting on such incidents. Most of the important provisions in the law were developed through the work of a collaborative group which met for over a year. Monica Zulauf (YWCA) and Malcolm Smith (UNH Family Studies), of the Manchester Family Education Collaborative, testified before the committee and were supported by NH Children's Advocacy Network Partners Mark Joyce of the NH School Administrators Association, Jennifer Durant of the Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and Laura Hainey of the American Federation of Teachers. More than a dozen students from around the state came to share their very moving personal stories of bullying with the committee. Kathleen Murphy, representing the Department of Education, testified in support of the bill and strengthening the statute. |
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Resources and Links on Bullying
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