CONTENTS

About This Course

Table of Contents

1. School Bullying: What It Is and Why It Hurts
2. The Role of Bullies, Victims, and Witnesses
3. Factors Contributing to Bullying and Violence
4. Screening and Assessment
5. Treatment For Children and Adolescents
6. Prevention and Intervention
7. Legal and Ethical Issues

Supplements
Case Studies
Fact Sheets
References
Resources

The ABCs of Bullying
Addressing, Blocking, and Curbing School Aggression

The Importance of Witnesses

Studies indicate that roughly 30 percent of students are either bullies or victims or both (within a school term). That makes 70 percent of the student population potential witnesses. Some researchers believe that the witnesses to bullying are the key to eliminating bullying because they are the sizable majority in any school.ref

Although this student population wields the most power and has the most opportunity to change a school, they are not a homogeneous group. Of course, the entire school community must support system change to support any bullying prevention effort. In the book "Bullies, Witnesses & Targets: Helping Children Break the Chain," SuEllen and Paula Fried describe six categories of witnesses:

• Inactive. These children are somewhat aware of the bullying, but try to avoid incidents and shield themselves from dealing with the bullying.
• Angry. They become angry at the victims for not deflecting the bullying. They blame the victim for their inaction, which forces the witness to be an audience to the continued abuse.
• Fearful. These witnesses confess that it hurts them to see their classmates being victimized. They think about doing something to stop the bullying, either by intervening themselves or telling a teacher, but fear the potential wrath of the bully.
• Voyeur. These kids get pleasure from watching others get taunted and bullied or are relieved they are not the victim.
• Accomplice. They cause the most harm because of their collusion. They laugh at the bullying and join him/her in the behavior as a way of ingratiating themselves with the bully. Accomplice witnesses give the bully more power, status, and popularity because they join in the act, which would not get as much attention if the bully acted alone.
• Helpful. These children actually try to help the victim either by directly intervening or getting an adult to stop the incident. Helpful witnesses understand the difference between tattling and reporting.