There is urgent need for the Government of Guyana through its Ministries of Social Protection, Education, and Culture, Youth and Sport to roll out a national anti-bullying campaign aimed at tackling the root causes of this scourge and its impact on the victims as well as the social fabric of our society.
For too long, policymakers within the legislative and executive branches of Government have either turned a blind eye to this phenomenon or simply adopted a piecemeal approach in dealing with this very serious issue. And therein lies the problem.
The fact that there has not been any serious coordinated and deliberate attempt at causing a reduction in the instances when children and teenagers are bullied, both inside the walls of their learning institutions and outside, is regrettable.
It is even more unfortunate when one considers the fact that children have died as a result of being bullied while others have suffered serious physical trauma and emotional distress.
The sudden death of 10-year-old Roseann Akeila Harris, who was kicked to her abdomen allegedly by a classmate last April, is still fresh in the memory of her family and all those who oppose the dastardly act of bullyism. Further, the young lad who was the aggressor in the matter was also left traumatised after he realised what he had done.
Social media and mass media are replete with countless examples of young people ending up on the wrong side of the law as a result of being bullied and taking matters into their own hands. The bloodly and shocking school fights and altercations at the bus parks and other locations in the afternoons have not declined.
This is despite the efforts last year of the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA), which must be commended for hosting a street fair to increase awareness about bullying during what appeared to be a one-off “National Bullying Prevention Month”.
The Government must explain why it has not acted on a proposal made by a University of Guyana lecturer who had conducted a study on the impact of bullying in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne). It must also explain why the Ministry of Education has not been more proactive in its response to this crisis. The Government also has access to a number of regional and international resources as well as studies that could guide policy conceptualisation and implementation with respect to mounting either a zero-tolerance campaign or a national anti-bullying programme.
After all, bullying is defined as the “repeated oppression, psychological or physical, of a less powerful person by a more powerful person or group of persons”.
The American Psychological Association Zero Tolerance Task Force reported in 2008 that severe punishment at schools neither reduces violence nor promotes learning. The United Nations Panel of Experts Report on School Discipline recommended in 2016 that “the US Government develop guidelines on how to ensure school discipline policies and practices comply with international human rights standards”.
These experts recommended that “positive behaviour intervention and support and restorative practices in school discipline should be used for reducing disciplinary incidents and improving learning in schools”.
Research presented at the International Conference on Violence in Schools and Public Policies in 2002 revealed that “bullying in schools is a worldwide phenomenon and that statistics from Australia mirror that of countries such as Canada, Scandinavia, Ireland, and England and show that 50 per cent of children have been bullied at school at least once”. So what is the solution to this problem, which has been described as a social justice and public health issue?
Restorative approaches have been proven to be the successful solution to school violence and misbehaviour.
Restorative practices which teach principles of respect, accountability, and strengthening or repair of relationships have been adopted in many schools in Australia. Research from Hong Kong and Hungary show that bullying behaviour dropped significantly when a restorative approach was adopted.
In the Caribbean, principals, deputy principals, guidance counsellors and education officers from eight Caricom countries were recently trained in restorative practices. Jamaica was the first to mandate training for staff in their justice and education systems. Last year, probation officers, social workers, Magistrates, correction officers and other juvenile justice practitioners from Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, and St Vincent and the Grenadines were trained in restorative practices by Epiphany Consultancy Services.
Guyana cannot afford to be left behind.
