Violence Against Bullies14-15 Ethics Bowl Case #15
Bullying Laws
No federal laws against bullying
In some cases, bullying overlaps with
discriminatory harassment and schools are
obligated to address it.
Cover harassment of LGBT students
49 states have adopted laws regarding bullying
Bullying, cyber bullying, and related behaviors
may be addressed in a single law or multiple
laws
States with laws and/or policiesfrom stopbullying.gov
Pennsylvania Bullying Law
Covered under harassment code 2709
Includes cyber bulling and bullying that happens off school grounds
Requires schools to include a bullying policy in their student code of conduct
Must be updated every three years, define bullying, and detail consequences
Schools that receive federal funds are required to address discrimination
Failure to do so may violate one or more civil rights laws
Bullying must be…
Unwanted
Aggressive
Include:
An imbalance of power
Repetition
from stopbullying.gov
The following acts can all
be forms of bullying:
Making threats
Spreading rumors
Attacking someone physically or
verbally
Excluding someone from a group on
purpose
Posting embarrassing pictures of
videos on social mediafrom stopbullying.gov
from stopbullying.gov
from stopbullying.gov
What does NOT work?
Group treatment for students who bullyBecomes an audience for students to brag about their exploits
Simple, short-term solutionsA workshop or assembly can help identify what bullying looks like and ways to respond, but teachers and students also need support and time to practice and master these skills.
Conflict resolution and peer mediation strategies
Bullying is a form of peer abuse not conflict.
Incorrectly expect the victim to solve his or her own abuse
Zero tolerance policiesBullying is a behavior that can be changed and replaced with a more positive, prosocial behavior.
Nearly 20 percent of students are involved in bullying other students. It is not realistic to suspend or expel 20 percent of any student body. from stopbullying.gov
Over two-thirds of
students believe that
schools respond poorly to
bullying, with a high
percentage of students
believing that adult help is
infrequent and ineffective.
Promising Prevention
StrategiesInvolving the whole school community in creating a culture of respect
Upstanders make a huge difference.
Adults can help prevent by keeping lines of communication open, talking to their children about bullying, encouraging them to do what they love, modeling kindness and respect, and encouraging them to get help when being bullied.
The best way to prevent bullying still isn’t known.
from stopbullying.gov
Day 2
Questions to Consider
Is Aaron’s punch morally permissible? Why or
why not?
Is it wrong for bystanders to feel happy that
Aaron stood up for himself in that way?
Do the consequences of the punch affect its
justification?
For example, if the punch succeeds in
stopping the bullying, does this make a
moral difference? What if the punch makes
the bullying worse?
Yes, violence CAN be the
answer.
from The American Thinker
Bullying has become a
widely researched topic.
What type of student tends to be a bully or a
victim?
What type of schools are more susceptible to
bullying problems?
Are there any correlations between
bullying in age, sex, sexual orientation,
race, socioeconomic status, geographic
location, intelligence, etc.?
CDC’s Regional, State,
and National Bullying DataPhiladelphia, PA and Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA and United States
Pennsylvania and United States
Philadelphia from 1991-2013
Philadelphia vs. U.S., 2013
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Philadelphia,PA
United States
ElectronicallyBullied
Bullied on SchoolProperty
Data from CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey
Philadelphia vs. PA vs. U.S.,
2009
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Philadelphia, PA Pennsylvania United States
Bullied on SchoolProperty
Data from CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey
Bullying by Sex, U.S., 2013
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Male Female
ElectronicallyBullied
Bullied on SchoolProperty
Data from CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey
Bullied by Race, U.S.
,2013
0
5
10
15
20
25
Asian Black Hispanic White
Electonically Bullied
Bullied on SchoolProperty
Data from CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance
Survey
Philadelphia, 2013,
Bullying by Grade Level
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
9th Grade 10thGrade
11thGrade
12thGrade
Electronically Bullied
Bullied on SchoolProperty
Data from CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey
Direct, physical bullying
increases in elementary
school, peaks in middle
school and declines in
high school. Verbal
abuse, on the other
hand, remains constant.
-U.S. Dept. of Justice
2010: Indicators of School
Crime and Safety Report
During 07-08 school year:
25% public schools reported that bullying occurs on
a daily or weekly basis
4% reported student racial/ethnic tensions
Higher percentage of middle than high school
reported daily or weekly occurrences of bullying
Higher percentage of of schools with 76% or more of
free and reduced lunch reported discipline problems
from stopbullying.gov
from stopbullying.gov
from stopbullying.gov
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