Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 8 June 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills

School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health: Discussion (Resumed)

Photo of Rónán MullenRónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

My final question is to Professor Hymel, although it may be relevant to all the witnesses because it is a general question in a way. The more I have learned in recent weeks about the diversity of pretexts, means and contexts for bullying and the diversity of approaches to dealing with it, I am struck by a particular point. We live in a time when there is very much a focus on identity, whether that identity is sexual, racial, disability-based and so on. There are programmes that focus on particular pretexts for bullying. However, the more I learn about all of this, the more I wonder whether it is a mistake to focus on one area. Does such an approach risk hogging time and resources and playing down, even by implication, other kinds of bullying? Could it appear to "other" certain categories of people whose experience is not being reflected because there is a focus on one kind of bullying? Might it be better to reach for some kind of higher ground that seeks to be inclusive of everybody and always keeps every kind of bullying in context? There may be particular interest groups that want to specify particular types of bullying, and they may have good reason to do so, but are there risks inherent in focusing on specific identities when trying to combat and prevent bullying?

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