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Bullying

Recently, the United Nations reported that 1 in 3 students worldwide reported being a victim of bullying in some capacity. For all ages, social statuses, genders, and backgrounds, bullying is prominent in school, sports, and virtually every social situation throughout childhood. Uniquely, bullying is universal, but that doesn’t mean bullying is equal for all groups.

Notably, for students and people with disabilities, the likelihood that a person is bullied doubles, as students often alienate one another by focusing on the differences among them. The most common ways that bullies target other students include: calling someone names, starting rumors, purposeful exclusion from activities and social groups, and in recent years, cyberbullying. These actions have dramatic effects on the social, emotional, and even physical well beings of bullying victims, directly affecting the health of children across the globe.

The best way to mitigate bullying in schools is to tackle it at its foundation – by maintaining an inclusive environment as teachers, so students can grow and learn in a place where inclusion is the norm rather than an eventual lesson. For teachers, teaching with kindness and empathy is key, as well as setting up and encouraging tough conversations in class. When students are tested by interacting with people who are much different than they are in productive conversations, students are more likely to respect and understand each other’s differences.

For educators and students, there are many resources available to learn more about bullying prevention practices and, more importantly, how to act for positive change. Those resources are linked below, and can be found all throughout the Spread the Word website!

ARTICLES
Students with disabilities are 2 – 3 times more likely to be bullied in school. That is why Special Olympics is shining a spotlight on bullying prevention for International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2023.
A new study identifies the most effective approaches to bullying prevention.
There’s a crisis of bullying in US schools, and the solution is learning what to do before it happens.
Think about your classroom. Now picture your students. Chances are that one out of every five has been bullied. As an educator, what can you do about it?
The impact of bullying on children with disabilities can be devastating, affecting those with a range of conditions, such as autism, cerebral palsy (CP), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Kids who know what bullying is can better identify it. They can talk about bullying if it happens to them or others. Kids need to know ways to safely stand up to bullying and how to get help.
Although bullying is sometimes seen as “a part of growing up” or “kids being kids,” imagine the kid who is picked on every day, whether physically, socially, or through cyber-bullying.
Bullying is a form of violence that can leave lasting negative effects on school-aged youth.
The most effective anti-bullying plan is designed and implemented with specific knowledge and skills consistently trained and used throughout the school district.
Bullying affects millions of individuals, from children to adults. Its impact can be long-lasting, causing physical, emotional, and psychological harm to those who experience it. However, there is hope.
In 2021–22, about 19 percent of students ages 12–18 reported being bullied during school, which was lower than the percentage who reported this in 2010–11 (28 percent). In 2021–22, among students who were bullied, 22 percent reported that the bullying happened online or by text.
It’s a harmful behavior that impacts 1 in 5 students in the US.
Students with Disabilities and Bullying: Top five things for parents, educators, and students to know
Almost one-third of young teens worldwide have recently experienced bullying, according to data released for the first time by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), which is the official data source for the Sustainable Development Goal on education.