LINDSEY WINN LAW AND POLICY AMERICAN COLLEGE OF EDUCATION ANTI-BULLYING

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BULLYING FACTS In Mississippi, 635 young people have committed suicide since (An average of 49 deaths per year) This number has not budged in over an decade despite widespread efforts to educate the public on teen suicide and bullying prevention. In fact, teens statewide has reported an increase in many behaviors associated with bullying since the passage of the Mississippi Anti-Bullying Law. It is illegal in Mississippi to intimidate, threaten, or coerce a student in any way if it interferes with their right to attend class and focus.

MISSISSIPPI SMART-TRACK SURVEY (2013) According to a SmartTrack Mississippi Survey, teens say they were teased more, excluded more, threatened more, embarrassed online more, and generally felt more unsafe at school than they did in The survey is distributed annually to over 100,000 students in Mississippi. Percentages: Students in a physical fight- 28.1% Students who where teased, embarrassed, threatened, excluded, or had items stolen during the past 12 months- 34.5% Students who missed school because they felt unsafe – 13.2% -( LeCoz, 2014).

WHAT IS BULLYING? Bullying is characterized to be unwelcome, aggressive behavior in school aged students that involves real or perceived power imbalance. This behavior is repeated or could likely be repeated over time. To be considered “bullying” the behavior needs to include: Imbalance of power (physical strength, popularity, control of harm, control of embarrassment, etc.) Power can change over time due to influence and can involve more than one person Repetition-happens repeatedly

TYPES OF BULLYING Verbal BullyingSocial BullyingPhysical Bullying Saying or writing mean things. Verbal bullying includes: teasing, name- calling, inappropriate sexual comments, taunting, or threatening to cause harm Involves hurting a persons reputation or relationship. Social Bullying includes: Leaving someone out on purpose, telling other students to not be friends with someone, Spreading rumors or embarrassing someone in public. Physical Bullying involves hurting a person or person’s possessions. Physical Bullying includes: Hitting, kicking, pinching, spitting, tripping, pushing, take/breaking some ones possession, making mean or rude hand gestures, etc. - Stopbullying.gov

CYBERBULLYING FACTS 25% of females are more likely to experience bullying in schools versus only 16% of males. 21.1% of females are more likely to report to tell an adult about cyberbullying versus only 18.3% of males Girls are the most likely to spread rumors via text, social media, and . Boys are more likely to promote physical harm or harmful pictures/videos. More than 56 of teens who were reported victims of cyber bullying said they felt angry. At least four reported teen suicides in the US have been connected to cyberbullying. -(Hinduja & Patchin, 2010).

GUARD AGAINST BULLYING Caution students not to share information over the internet Teach students to not respond to cyberbullying by retaliation Show students how to delete or block mean messages before they can be read Teach your students to respect others and teach them about the effects of bullying Teach students to report abuses or threats to an adult.

REFERENCES: Home | StopBullying.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved August 9, 2015, from LeCoz, E. (2012, April 1). Anti-bullying laws fail to stem youth suicide. Retrieved August 9, 2015, from 14/04/12/anti-bullying-laws-fail-stem-youth- suicide/ / Patchin, J., & Hinduja, S. (2010). Cyberbullying and Self-Esteem*. Journal of School Health, 80(12),