Bullying can happen to ANYONE. Bullying is about someone’s behavior. That behavior could be directed at the shy, quiet student, or the class tough guy. Girls bully, boys bully, preschool kids bully, and high school kids bully – there is no one characteristic or aspect that indicates who gets bullied. The one sure thing is that no one EVER deserves to be bullied, it is NEVER their fault, and if someone is being bullied, they have a RIGHT to be safe.
Supportive, diverse environments can help prevent bullying. However, students who are perceived to be different in some way – whether that be their disability, race, sexual orientation, gender, body shape, etc. – are at increased risk for being bullied. To respond to this increased risk, federal and state governments provide particular protections for these students. Protected classes include students who are bullied due to their race, ethnicity, immigration status, disability, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. It’s important to remember that even though these particular groups of students are especially vulnerable to bullying, and therefore need special protections, school policies need to protect ALL students. No one EVER deserves to be bullied.
According to a study conducted in 2010 by Nixon and Davis, the reasons for being bullied most often reported by students are looks (55%), body shape (37%), and race (16%). Students with disabilities are bullied two to three times more than their peers (Marshall, Kendall, Banks & Gover (Eds.), 2009). 82% of students who identify as LGBTQ were bullied in the last year based on their sexual orientation (National School Climate Survey, 2011).
So who bullies? Think the person bullying is the big guy who wears black, has low self-esteem, and gets mad a lot? Could be, but it can also be the petite cheerleader or the quiet honor student. It’s not appearance that defines someone who bullies; it is behavior. Students who bully can be any size, age, grade, or gender.
Then there is the group who sees the bullying and this group is really important. They may not be getting bullied, they may not be bullying, but their reaction has a direct impact on the situation. Think about it: Have you ever seen a group watching a fight? There are some who look, then walk away; there are others who watch and say nothing; and then there are those who cheer it on. These responses make a huge difference in the outcome of every bullying situation. This group is called the bystanders or witnesses.
And to add to it all, the role that any student plays in a bullying situation often shifts and changes from day to day. Somebody who was bullied on the bus in the morning, might be the one who makes fun of a younger kid that afternoon. The kid who laughed with other kids at a fight yesterday, might ask the new kid with no friends to sit with him at lunch today.