Put a Stop to Bullying

It’s sad, but true: Students continue to experience bullying in the classroom, in the halls, in extracurricular activities and outside of school. By definition, bullying is repeated and systematic harassment and attacks perpetrated by individuals or groups, usually based on an imbalance of power. Bullying can take many forms, including verbal taunts, threats and intimidation, extortion or theft, and harassment. Another form of bullying is cyberbullying, which takes place online or through mobile devices.

Physical forms of bullying, such as intimidation, extortion, and physical or verbal attacks, are typically more common among males. Females are more likely to engage in social bullying, using exclusion, rumors, manipulation and embarrassment. Bullies come from various economic, cultural or religious backgrounds, and they typically want power, have quick tempers, have difficulty conforming to rules, gain satisfaction from inflicting injury and perceive “rewards” (prestige, material goods) from their behavior, have positive self-images and exude a positive attitude toward violence.

Aside from clear anti-bullying policies and proper supervision, the best way to minimize bullying at your school is to encourage your students to report incidents. Bystanders play a big role in stopping serious situations – 57 percent of the time, peer intervention halts bullying within 10 seconds.¹ While it may not always be possible to stop bullying immediately, timely reporting by students and employees allows you to address it as quickly as possible.

While it may not always be possible to stop bullying immediately, we want you to be able to address it as quickly as possible. That’s why GuideOne has partnered with STOPit, the leading anti-bullying program in the United States, to provide access to their online tools and mobile app that allows for anonymous reporting of bullying and harassment.

With a user-friendly mobile app connected to the STOPit platform, individuals are empowered to instantly and anonymously connect with those who can resolve issues. The app also equips you with a powerful system that supports anonymous two-way communication with incident reporters, as well as a host of tools designed to save time and help conduct effective and efficient investigations. Incident reports are tagged with various defining parameters and tracked nationally. Visit our website for more information on how you can use STOPit at your school.

¹Hawkins, D. L., Pepler, D., and Craig, W. M. (2001). Peer interventions in playground bullying. Social Development, 10, 512-527.

Put a Stop to Bullying

Share