Province Announces Plan to Tackle Bullying
- Judy Bird | November 15, 2013
Bullying hurts, and for Saskatchewan youth, it is an all too common experience. In the world of electronic communication and social media, cyber bullying is also a real threat to the wellbeing of young people. As stories of bullying and the tragic consequences fill headlines across Canada on a regular basis, the message is always the same: bullying is not acceptable, and won't be tolerated. Stopping bullying, however, is not so easy.
On November 14, the Saskatchewan government released Saskatchewan's Action Plan to Address Bullying and Cyber Bullying at an event in Regina's Arcola School. It's the government's response to growing public pressure to address the issue.
"Our hope and our expectation is that we will be able to provide the support to teachers, to parents and to students that if there is a situation involving bullying, that they will have places they can go to and then they will know where the resources are," said Don McMorris, Minister of Education.
In early 2013, Premier Brad Wall appointed Jennifer Campeau, MLA for Saskatoon Fairview, to spearhead the endeavour, naming her Legislative Secretary to the Minister of Education. The report is the result of months of consultations with Saskatchewan residents. More than 1,000 Saskatchewan people provided input, either in person, online or by written submission, describing their thoughts and experiences on the subject. Consultations were held with individuals, the public and interest groups.
"We definitely wanted to get a picture of the Saskatchewan experience and what's going on in our communities right now," said Campeau.
During the consultation process, steps were taken to ensure people felt safe enough to talk about their experiences. "We had a counsellor on site, we wanted to have measures in place if somebody was to feel like they were revictimized by telling their story, said Campeau. We also brought in a First Nations elder from the area to start the consultations off in a good way because people were a little bit nervous and antsy because it's a very sensitive issue."
The report acknowledges that bullying is a complex problem without simple solutions. Findings indicate that at least 1 in 3 adolescent students in Canada reported being bullied. Campeau said it was evident throughout the consultations that the saying it takes a community to raise a child also applies to helping youth deal with bullying. With that understanding, the government is looking to partner with other agencies, such as the Red Cross, Kids Help Phone and SaskTel's "I Am Stronger" campaign, to help address the problem. Plans also include developing an anonymous online reporting system for kids to report being bullied.
Students are also key participants in finding solutions. Restorative justice and mediation tools will be available to help the kids come up with solutions together. Campeau said during the consultations, people expressed the need for prevention, holistic solutions and working with the bully.
"It's about getting to the root causes of why they're behaving the way they are, and definitely helping to try to address that because in the end, they're all children, they're all students and we're all responsible for their safety and their education in this province."
The report gives six recommendations and proposed actions. In brief, they are:
1. to update current polices and protocols in the education sector to prevent, intervene and respond to bullying incidents;
2. recognize the need to have 24-hour 7 days a week support for children and youth
3. to work with other ministries regarding upcoming federal legislation and its implications for Saskatchewan;
4. provide students with the proper knowledge and skills to develop appropriate online behaviour
5. recognize that students, families, schools and community members need access to a website with anti-bullying resources; and
6. recognize that young people play an important role in creating solutions.
Read the full report by visiting the government's website.