Professor Shelley Hymel:

Bullying has been around for as long as anyone can remember, often seen as a rite of passage that makes kids tougher. Yet research conducted in countries around the world has consistently documented the negative impact of school bullying, especially on victims. It can get under the skin and affect neuro-biological functioning. Victims are at risk for depression, anxiety, and poor self-worth, challenges that often continue into adulthood. They are more likely to consider suicide. Far too many have found suicide to be their only option. They at risk for later aggression, conduct problems and self-harm. Understandably, victims are more disengaged from school and are more likely to be absent. Academic performance suffers, and they are more likely to drop out of school early. Children who bully others are also at risk for many of the same problems, but especially for aggressive and antisocial behaviour and delinquency, substance use, depression and anxiety. Bullying can also become a generalised pattern of behaviour, with demonstrated links to later dating violence and criminality. Even children who witness bullying are at risk, with evidence of feelings of helplessness, mental health difficulties, and suicidal ideation. Given such evidence, it is critical that we address school bullying and I applaud the committee's efforts to do so but how can it be done?

Bullying is developmental. It increases over the primary years, reaching a peak around grades eight to ten, and declines somewhat thereafter but never goes away. As such, schools are an ideal place to address the problem, where we can reach the majority of our children early on and repeatedly. Bullying is also context dependent. The overall climate and social atmosphere of the school can either encourage or discourage bullying. Indeed, certain subgroups are far more likely to be bullied, including racial and sexual minorities, immigrant youth and those with disabilities. Bullying emerges within very complex social networks, with social status being a key motivating factor. Educators need training to understand the group dynamics that underlie bullying and how they can best support vulnerable students. Until recently, teacher education programmes have not provided such training, focusing primarily on academics.

To date, several school-based programmes have been created that show some success in reducing bullying. Although they share common elements, the diversity of approaches is important, each addressing particular contributing factors. Still, there is no single programme that has been shown to stop school bullying. Overall, research shows that school efforts to reduce bullying only does so by about 20%, with little evidence of effectiveness at the secondary level. We can do better.

Universal programmes aimed at all children are critical to develop pro-social behaviours and positive school cultures but they are not enough. Given the documented consequences of bullying, we also need more targeted one-on-one interventions for those students who are most seriously impacted. Indeed, the most effective programmes have been shown to be whole-school efforts with multiple foci, including both universal and targeted interventions. My recommendation is that anti-bullying efforts be viewed as part of a larger mandate for schools and that schools promote social and emotional competencies, as well as academic skills. In North America, there is a growing body of evidence supporting the positive, long-term impact of such programmes. They teach basic pro-social skills, foster empathy, and promote acceptance and respect for others, thereby creating tolerant and inclusive classrooms. These programmes not only reduce peer aggression and victimisation but help to create positive school climates that will not exacerbate the difficulties victimised students face.

Importantly, there are multiple ways through which educators can do this, allowing for flexibility and repetition with variation across the school years.

To address bullying effectively, we need to provide educators with the training they need. Expanded training for counsellors is also needed for them to undertake targeted interventions and also to create better links to community-based mental health agencies. Finally, ongoing assessment and evaluation are imperative to be sure that one's efforts are actually working.