Amid reports that some 15 per cent of secondary pupils are being bullied, Anne Dempsey looks at a new community initiative which involves parents, schools, victims - and bullys - in an innovative way.
Monday: my money was taken, Tuesday: names called, Wednesday: my uniform torn, Thursday: my body pouring with blood, Friday: it's ended, Saturday: freedom. These were the diary entries spanning the last week in the life of a 13-year-old boy found hanging from the stairs of his home. Geraldine Byrne quoted from it in a presentation on counteracting bullying behaviour made to the European Forum on Victim Services in Strasbourg, and this autumn she is one of the prime movers behind a community approach to bullying pioneered in Dublin's inner city.
A former teacher, she is national co-ordinator of Victim Support's anti-bullying programme and has presented workshops to school chaplains and at teacher training colleges. "There can be a lot of misunderstanding about bullying behaviour," she says, "but experts agree it has three components. It is planned, it is repetitive and it involves an imbalance of power. So messing may not be bullying. Once-off incidents are not classically bullying, and in terms of power-imbalance, the bully is not necessarily physically bigger than the victim. Research shows that bullying peaks in first and second year among 13- and 14-year-olds.
"We find the physical and psychological symptoms very similar to those experienced by individuals victimised by crime or abuse, and some symptoms may be long-term. Also research has shown a direct correlation between unchecked bullying behaviour and juvenile crime. In a survey of 79 young offenders carried out by the UK charity Kidscape, all stated they were involved in bullying in some way," says Byrne. Back in the mid-1990s, the Department of Education and Science issued guidelines on how to cope with bullying. Many schools adopted their own code of conduct including the appointment of one or more members of staff as anti-bullying co-ordinators who ideally receive support from peers and school principal. Geraldine Byrne says bringing this code to life within the school will make it much more effective.
Her work led to an approach by Dublin 1/7, one of the hundreds of local committees set up as part of a home-school-community liaison scheme. 1/7 represents primary, post primary schools, and services from the informal education sector in Dublin 1 and Dublin 7. The committee, consisting of teachers, parents and community workers, meets each month to discuss a range of concerns, including bullying. Bullying behaviour includes physical aggression, name calling, and damage to victim's property.
"Our incidence is no higher than anywhere else, and we would all have codes of conduct regarding bullying. But these tend to focus mainly on the school environment," explains member Mark Hogan, co-ordinator of adult and community services, St Vincent's Trust.
"In practice, bullying can move outside the school, or start in the home and find its way into school. It is not something that happens in isolation, so it seemed that the response should be an integrated one also. We wanted to find a more holistic approach and focus on the total experience of the child. The fact that we had people on the committee such as the social worker, public health nurse and juvenile liaison officer helped us to do that, and Geraldine's input gave us a whole new understanding of what bullying really is." Geraldine Byrne presented five workshops last year which led to participants identifying the need for an information leaflet for parents on how to recognise and cope with bullying behaviour. A representative committee was set up, and the process in writing and designing the leaflet has proved more fruitful than anyone would have thought.
As well as listening to parents, the committee invited a group of primary and post-primary children to canvas their peers then come and give their views. "I learnt a lot," says Eithne de Lacy, Home-School Community Co-ordinator of Mount Carmel Secondary School, King's Inns Street. "One girl told us she would hate her parents to go to the bully's house as it would make things worse. I would have thought the young person would like that kind of support from parents, but there was general agreement and nodding of heads from the other young people when she said that. They were very knowledgeable about bullying and of the kind of emotional hurt it causes.
Committee member Linda McKinley's five children have been through the local schools. "One of my older children was bullied, and the school was helpful. When we were younger, many things went on that we wouldn't have called bullying. But I think people are more aware now. A lot of parents with children going into first year worry about bullying. Some would not have gone to secondary themselves and are nervous about approaching the school. In fact, many were amazed that the school would care enough to have me visit them at home to tell them what to expect in first year and encourage them as new parents to come to a meeting in the school."
The leaflet, Stop That Bullying developed by parents, teachers and children, is now available. It includes standard fare such as the definition of bullying behaviour, pointers for parents who suspect their child may be bullied and guidelines on helpful responses. "Our aim here is to give parents a language in which to discuss things at home," says Mark Hogan.
The publication breaks new ground, however, when it speaks directly to parents whose child may be the bully. It suggests how they could help the child at home, how best to approach the school, and, imaginatively, invites them to look at their own behaviour. "Remember: children learn more from the way we behave rather than from what we say", it says, adding that parents need to deal with their own feelings and attitudes because these will affect how they respond to their children.
The committee has trained some parents to distribute the leaflet around the thousand or so families who make up the collective school community, and hopes to train more.
Dublin 1/7 realises that a leaflet of itself will not change attitudes. "Every parent wants to do what is best for their child but they may need support in doing that," says Hogan. "We don't want to blame or label anyone. If parents feel they are being accused they become defensive, 'never my Johnny or my Mary', and can see it as a direct reflection on themselves. Our aim would be to try to understand why these behaviours happen, and to take the approach 'we have a problem here, let's see what we can do about it'. Raising awareness as a whole community is a good start. It's not going to be the total solution to the problem at large, but we hope to offer support to as many as are open to respond to it. "
Geraldine Byrne works with groups of parents and teachers. She can be contacted at Victim Support, Haliday House, 32 Arran Quay, Dublin 7. Tel: 01-8780870
