So this isn’t really in relation to DaminiOrgUK but I’d like to also use this space to voice my opinions on current issues, and this time I’d like to talk about Bullying.
Seeing so many videos on my Facebook timeline of children getting bullied…it’s so disturbing and upsetting.I hope the bullies in these videos are seen by their parents and families so they don’t get away with this!
Those being bullied are probably feeling ashamed that their videos are being shared, but please don’t and please report these vicious crimes.
A lot of the problem comes from schools, because they don’t take allegations made seriously.
Schools have safeguarding policies but they don’t necessarily educate their pupils on what safeguarding means. I have done a lot of safeguarding training through my teaching job roles and it’s important to do workshops in schools so young people can relate to situations and know there is help out there.
There are interactive ways of introducing safeguarding to lessons.
Sometimes just noticing a change in behaviour of a young person can be the first step to noticing something is not right.
BeatBullying used to be an excellent charity that had great celebrity endorsements – they did excellent work but sadly closed down in 2014, due to lack of funding. What does that tell us?
It tells us that bullying hasn’t had the support it’s needed. It tells us that people didn’t think it worthy enough to raise funds for and that many of us never really knew how needed such a charity would be in today’s world.
We all need to understand bullying more. As educators, friends, family, teachers, siblings and parents we all need to talk to young people about this and make them understand people will listen and they shouldn’t feel afraid to speak out if they are being bullied. Help is out there for them…x
Reena Combo-Kainth 