Dr. Angela Mazzone:

The FUSE programme was just implemented last year. It does not include this component yet, but I can talk about the international literature. We know of the two approaches - the non-confronting approach and the confronting approach - which are used with the perpetrator of bullying. There are contrasting findings in the literature. Some research shows that the confronting approach, meaning having a serious conversation with the perpetrator of bullying and explaining that the behaviour is unacceptable, seems to work, but there is also research showing that this approach works with short-term episodes of victimisation, those cases where children are victimised for a short time. There is research that shows both approaches are effective in reducing victimisation. As long as bullying is tackled and addressed and not ignored, and the school staff are trained to adapt these two approaches, bullying can decrease.