Here is an excerpt from an excellent article on bullying put out by the National Crime Prevention Commission. I sure wish everyone took this crime as seriously....
Bullying
Information and Resources To Help
Prevent the Serious Problem of Bullying
Bullying has become a tidal wave of epic
proportions. Although bullying was once considered a rite of passage, parents, educators, and community
leaders now
see bullying as a devastating form of abuse that can have
long-term effects on youthful victims, robbing them of self-esteem, isolating
them from their peers, causing them to drop out of school, and even prompting
health problems and suicide.
A recent study by the Family and Work
Institute reported that one-third of youth are
bullied at
least once a month, while others say six out of 10 American teens witness
bullying at least once a day. Witnessing bullying can be harmful, too,
as it may make the witness feel helpless - or that he or she is the next
target.
Children who are bullied are often
singled out
because of a perceived difference between them and others, whether
because of appearance (size, weight, or clothes), intellect, or, increasingly,
ethnic or religious affiliation and sexual orientation.
And bullying can be a gateway behavior, teaching
the perpetrator that threats and aggression are acceptable even in adulthood. In one study by Fight Crime: Invest
in Kids,
nearly 60 percent of boys whom researchers classified as bullies in
grades six to
nine were convicted of at least one crime by the age of 24, while
40 percent had three or more convictions.
see full article: http://www.ncpc.org/topics/bullying
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