Where are the Consequences for Bullying?
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Where are the Consequences for Bullying?
Consequences for an individual’s actions are placed to deter others from committing certain crimes: so why is bullying overlooked? Bullying is defined as “intentional harm-doing or harassment that is directed toward vulnerable targets and typically repeated. Bullying encompasses a wide range of malicious aggressive behaviors, including physical violence, verbal mockery, threats, ostracism, and rumors spread either orally or by other means of communication, such as the Internet” (Encyclopedia Britannica). Since there has been a rise in bullying, many places have increased the consequences to an individual’s actions. Schools and states are finding the need to put laws and policies into effect. Certain states, schools, and communities are coming together looking a way to teach others about bullying, and its negative effects it can have. Some individuals are bullied to the point that they have a hard time handling all the affects that bullying has on them. The bullied individuals could end up taking their own life or the life of others to stop what is happening to them. Creating consequences for bullying may be all that is needed to help prevent this problem from continuing to become worse.
With all the federal laws we have in this country, there are no laws that deal with bullying. There are ways that bullying is addressed under certain federal law, but coverage from the law depends on the situation. Some certain incidents of bullying can also be addressed under single or multiple laws depending on the state. If a bullying incident happens in a federally funded school, and the school is not able to resolve the matter, or if it overlaps with another law then the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division may step up. As stated on stopbullying.gov,” A school that fails to respond appropriately to harassment of students based on a protected class may be violating one or more civil rights laws enforced by the Department of Education and the Department of Justice”. Not having the federal government support, could cause some individuals to feel it is normal to bully. There is no law stopping them. Two senators have introduced the SSIA act. The SSIA act stands for Safe Schools Improvement Act. This act, if it were to pass, would require schools to address and collect an incident report of any bullying. The school collects the incident report and reports it to their state. The state than report the incident to the secretary of education. The SSIA act was first introduced in 2003 by Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, but the act was not approved. Just again this year, Senator Bob Casey reintroduced the SSIA act, and it is yet to be approved. Even with all that congressmen and senators have tried, states and local lawmakers have now taken bullying into their own hands and have put state laws and school policies into place. These laws and policies that have been put into place can be found in each state’s education codes and policies which are guidance to districts and schools. According to bullyingstatistics.org, “As of October, 2010, 45 states had bullying laws while there were no such laws in the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. New York is one of the most recent to pass legislation.” States and local lawmakers are doing a great job creating new consequences for bullying, but the federal government does not seem to want to be part of it. Maybe the federal government does not want to pass a law because they do not see or realize how many times a day or how many places bullying happens.
Some individuals feel that bullying can only happen at school, but this is not true. There are many people bullied on a daily basis in different social situations such as an adult riding the subway and someone making fun of the way they are dressed, to a student in a classroom that is struggling with reading something aloud. Most places whether be a school or a subway want an individual to report any bullying they see to either the teacher or police before it gets out of hand. There are many places including schools and communities that have started to find ways to help stop bullying. One way schools are helping to prevent bullying is by setting up policies and rules. As stated on stopbullying.gov “Bullying can threaten students’ physical and emotional safety at school and can negatively impact their ability to learn.” Since some individuals or children struggle with a social setting once bullied, if a school is able to put measures into place, this may deter individuals from bullying in the first place. Some other ideas that have been put into place in certain schools is to have a reporting system and integrate the rules and policies into a school’s culture. Schools also look to help prevent bullying by having both the parents and youth engaged in knowing all the areas about bullying. In other words, we teach the parents and children how to prevent, report or even stop bullying in its tracks. School staff has begun to watch for bullying and report any incidents to the principle or write a child up for a detention or suspension depending on the school’s rules. Some students may even avoid bullying if they know the school staff is watching. These students do not want to get into any trouble with the school. One problem is the school staff cannot prevent all of bullying and protect students by themselves. Even if there are individuals that work with children, but do not have any of their own, they could help the community teach others including parents and children the areas of bullying. Stopbullying.gov stated, “Bullying can be prevented, especially when the power of a community is brought together”. Schools are now making sure that everyone is taught about all areas of bullying. Schools are reaching out to communities by educating after-care staff, library staff, and even coaches about bullying in hopes of preventing actions in the first place. Communities and schools can work on the prevention of bullying, but there are individual consequences that many may not see.
When someone is bullied, there are many different individual consequences that can be caused by bullying. Just take a look at suicide, there is a huge link between suicides and bullying, not just in the US but in many other countries. According to the International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, “Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found signs of an apparent connection between bullying, being bullied and suicide in children, according to a new review of studies from 13 countries published in the International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health”. These individuals are committing suicide after they can no longer take the effects of being bullied. Suicide and bullying tend to affect more girls than boys and often happens between the ages of 10-14 (bullyingstatistics.org). This is the age where children hit puberty, which also can be a trigger for bullying. No one realizes how much bullying and suicide go together. This may not just happen to a child, but this could also happen to an adult. The individual being bullied continuously feels like they can no longer take the actions and many end up feeling worthless which leads to depression and can end up with suicide. Another effect of bullying can be when a person being bullied ends up murdering other because they were bullied when younger. Many people have heard the news where an individual goes on a rampage killing many, after the investigation of why this individual went on a rampage they end up finding out he/she had something against that person or place. Upon deeper investigation, they find the individual was always teased or bullied and he/she wanted revenge. Wanting such revenge they end up going on rampages getting back at the ones that they want, the ones that caused them so much pain. Accidently killing many others that may just be in the way, and then taking their own life as a final act.
Being bullied can also cause an individual to have some serious long term mental health issues. As stated by Mishna (2012), “Bullying is a significant issue in children’s lives, with short-term and long-term mental health, academic, physical, and social problems for children who bully and who are victimized”. Many individuals that tend to be bullied are children/adults that tend to be shy, smaller, weaker, or less popular. Some individuals or children that have been bullied can have an increased risk of substance use. This can be a way to cover up what they are feeling. One problem is that being bullied can make an individual think there is something wrong with them. These individuals can end up having some short-term mental health issues such as low self-esteem, withdraw, or depression which in turn could lead them to suicide. Losing an individual can never be an easy thing for anyone. If the bullying had never started, someone may have never lost a loved one, whether they are the bully or the one being bullied.
No form of bullying should be taken as just an incident. The individuals that cause these problem need to have consequences to their actions. Without any consequences or laws bullying will continue to increase and individuals will continue to think these actions are normal to do. Bullying affects everyone and some individual’s end their life because they feel that cannot get away from these actions. This is not fair to their friends or family. So to help prevent bullying everyone needs to take a step to make sure it does not become worse. Teaching your children that it is not right to bully is a huge start. Let’s take this problem and find ways to make bullying disappear and become a thing of the past.

References
Mishna, F. (2012). Bullying: A Guide to Research, Intervention, and Prevention. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc.
U.S. Department of Human Services. (YYYY). Stop Bullying. Retrieved from http://www.stopbullying.gov/index.html, December 15, 2013.
Bullying Statistics. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/, December 15, 2013
International Journal of Adolescent Medicine of Health 20 (2), 2008. Retrieved from http://www.news.yale.edu/2008/07/016/bullyingsuicide.
Bullying. (2013).In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/687645/bullying
Dupper, D. R. (2013). School Bullying: New Perspectives on a Growing Problem. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.