Bullying is an ongoing issue in everyday society, from schools to the workplace it can affect victims in a variety of different ways. In its most severe form, bullying can also be seen in peoples home lives in the form of domestic violence and domestic abuse. As i mentioned, bullying and domestic violence can have severe impacts ranging from victims developing depression and anxiety to them wanting to self harm, commit suicide or even be killed at the hands of their aggressors. Whilst the former is primarily seen in domestic violence and abuse cases, the former is certainly prevalent in both
Bullying can manifest itself in 2 main ways: physical and mental (physical is pretty self explanatory and mental bullying is most commonly seen where the aggressor will continuously threaten their victim, we are also seeing a drastic rise in cyber bullying). Domestic abuse and violence can manifest in several: physical, mental and psychological (this can range from physically beating their victim to stopping them from seeing family and friends, controlling what they wear and where they go and even controlling their finances and bank accounts).
First of all there needs to be an understanding of why people choose to bully others or subject them to domestic abuse and violence. This is widely debated with reasons ranging from being bullied themselves, being subjected to domestic abuse in their youth to jealousy of their victim. The most common factor in both seems to be the aggressor wanting an element of control over their victim. Perhaps they feel like they have control over very little in their own lives so seek to control others as a result.
One of the most thought provoking and interesting reasons that I have read for both bullying and domestic violence is that people fear those who don't look, think, dress or act like us. We must then force ourselves to not think this way in order to not become a bully. It is a thought process that has been bred into us for many centuries.
The speech goes on to mention that things like empathy and compassion are personality traits that can only be attained by those with the mental capacity and sufficiently evolved brains. Bullies have not evolved past the primal instinct of fear and power over others, which, I am not going to lie, was quite amusing to me whilst also making me think back to my childhood bullies. The video has been uploaded to our group.
Bullying Facts & Figures
A survey of 2,000 students taken in 2000 stated that 1 in 4 students reported being bullied
33% of those students reported having suicidal thoughts due to being bullied
41% of those students reported feelings of anxiety about being bullied further and about returning to school
62% reported being bullied by a person that they know relatively well
One student even reported receiving homophobic remarks from their teacher!
These statistics have changed very little in the last 24 years and so there is a real problem with bullying being dealt with effectively
Bullying is a very important subject to me, not just because I was bullied in my youth but also because now my 3 children are also experiencing being bullied in their schools. My eldest daughter has been physically assaulted and is currently being repeatedly verbally threatened.
My son, who has severe learning difficulties and developmental delays is being repeatedly physically bullied and also verbally threatened. Both have been anxious about returning to school following an incident. My son more so, he has actually been in tears several times through fear of his aggressor. My daughter has also self harmed and had thoughts and ideations of suicide due to her aggressor. My step-daughter was being bullied but she is tougher and more resilient than most and has had her problems in school rectified.
We are also available for hire to host Motivational Speeches on Bullying/Domestic Violence and Abuse and the effects it can have on people as well as our Support Services. Please use the Contact Us form to find out more!
