Here is an insightful article on bullying provided by night_axe at the lj community deathtocapslock:
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/perspective/stories/2006/1695363.htm It's short, and a must-read.
The following text in italics is from the article and the text not in italics are my comments:
The article discusses how bullying is actually a form of abuse and how current strategies used for reducing bullying are actually inappropriate and distressing to bullying victims/survivors.
Some interventions currently established for dealing with bullying are inappropriate as they do not recognise that bullying is abuse.It also proposes this interesting solution to bullying:
Teachers should be considered responsible for both appropriate identification of the behaviours observed (as abusive or bullying) and for intervention under the provisions of the Children and Young Person's (Care and Protection Act),NSW 1998.
It is proposed that implementation of legislative requirements under this act ,for mandatory notification by teachers of all forms of abuse should be considered as a means of protective intervention in cases of bullying. This proposal also offers protection to teachers and schools from litigation in cases of serious per abuse.
The implementation of conflict resolution strategies for example, in dealing with child abuse would never be considered appropriate. We simply would never place an abused child in the same room as their abuser and try to mediate between them. Nor would we suggest that the abuse is in some way beneficial to the victim and 'character building'. ( Read more... )