Bullying, Safety and Respect for All Beth Reis, M.S. Health Educator, Public Health – Seattle & King County Co-Chair, Safe Schools Coalition December 2008

Agenda Your data and what research says about the consequences Stories from the Safe Schools Project When they dont report … why? Strategies to reduce bias-based bullying and violence Bullying intervention activity (small groups) & discussion

Healthy Youth Survey Bullying Questions A student is being bullied when another student, or group of students, say or do unpleasant things to him or her. It is also bullying when a student is teased repeatedly in a way he or she doesnt like. It is NOT bullying when two students of about the same strength argue or fight.

Bullying Questions – percent bullied in past 30 days Among 6 th graders McIllvaigh – 30% Gault – 30% WA State – 32% Among 8 th graders McIllvaigh – 36% Gault – 33% WA State – 27%

HYS Questions, 8 th grade only McIllvaigh: 16% Gault: 33% WA state: 15% In the past 30 days … were you bullied, harassed or intimidated at school or on your way to or from school because of your race, ethnicity, or national origin or what someone thought it was?

HYS Questions, 8 th grade only McIllvaigh:16% Gault: 19% WA state: 15% In the past 30 days … were you bullied, harassed or intimidated at school or on your way to or from school because of your religion or what someone thought it was?

HYS Questions, 8 th grade only McIllvaigh:10% Gault: 23% WA state: 14% In the past 30 days … were you bullied, harassed or intimidated at school or on your way to or from school because someone thought you were gay, lesbian, or bisexual (whether you are or are not)?

HYS Questions, 8 th grade only McIllvaigh: 13% Gault: 25% WA state: 20% In the past 30 days … were you bullied, harassed or intimidated at school or on your way to or from school because of your gender (being male or female)? This includes sexual jokes, gestures, or comments that make you feel uncomfortable.

HYS Questions, 8 th grade only McIllvaigh: 10% Gault: 13% WA state: 10% In the past 30 days … were you bullied, harassed or intimidated at school or on your way to or from school because you have a health problem or physical or mental disability, or someone thought you did?

HYS Questions, 8 th grade only McIllvaigh: 27% Gault: 38% WA state: 28% In the past 30 days … were you bullied, harassed or intimidated at school or on your way to or from school because of any other reason?

Other forms of bias-based harassment that HYS doesnt ask about: class- or neighborhood-based height- or weight-based What else do you see? anticipate? To insert your company logo on this slide From the Insert Menu Select Picture Locate your logo file Click OK To resize the logo Click anywhere inside the logo. The boxes that appear outside the logo are known as resize handles. Use these to resize the object. If you hold down the shift key before using the resize handles, you will maintain the proportions of the object you wish to resize.

So what? What difference does race-based bullying make? Analysis of one districts data found that students who were harassed due to race were twice as likely as their non racially- harassed peers to report having skipped at least one whole day of school in the past month out of fear for their own safety.

What about sexual bullying? Like the racially harassed students, youth of both genders were twice as likely if they had been sexually- harassed to report having skipped at least one whole day of school in the past month out of fear.

And anti-gay bullying? Even heterosexual youth who had been verbally or physically gay-bashed were at increased risk. They were three times as likely as their non-harassed, heterosexual peers to report having skipped at least one whole day of school in the past month out of fear.

WA State: Depression and Suicidality

To insert your company logo on this slide From the Insert Menu Select Picture Locate your logo file Click OK To resize the logo Click anywhere inside the logo. The boxes that appear outside the logo are known as resize handles. Use these to resize the object. If you hold down the shift key before using the resize handles, you will maintain the proportions of the object you wish to resize. QUIZ: Kids are just mean and theres nothing we can do about it. True or False?

Wow … all that from name-calling? Just how serious are these incidents? To insert your company logo on this slide From the Insert Menu Select Picture Locate your logo file Click OK To resize the logo Click anywhere inside the logo. The boxes that appear outside the logo are known as resize handles. Use these to resize the object. If you hold down the shift key before using the resize handles, you will maintain the proportions of the object you wish to resize.

When They Dont Report … WHY?! shame and self-blame fear that they wouldnt be believed or that they would be blamed or disciplined fear of retribution respect for someone elses wishes assumption that nothing would be done, hopelessness

Assignments … strategies to: increase reporting improve investigation engage students in solving the problem increase families awareness decrease racism, misogyny/transphobia, homophobia improve intervention

Intervention Steps Get the persons attention (use their name if possible). Keep it calm (offer face-saving). Call it out (name it). Say how you feel, how targets feel. Tell them what you want. Put a price on it.

Intervention Activity Each person takes a slip of paper. First person tells the group your age and the context. Say your line, in role, as a child. Person to your left, respond, in role, as yourself (the adult who overheard the comment or to whom it was said). Others can add what else they might say. Then the person who was the adult becomes the next child and the person to their left is the adult.

My # 1 RECOMMENDATION for launching your change: Speechify