This month we will be discussing bullying as the 16th-20th November is anti-bullying week. Bullying can affect anyone; we are all potential targets and sometimes you don’t even notice it happening. Anti-Bullying Week is a time to reflect on just how bullying can affect anyone of any age.
Bullying can have a long-lasting effect on those who are targeted, and even if you may not experience it yourself it can be found in many different settings – work, educational institutions, online, in the community, and even at home. Cyberbullying especially has become more prevalent these days as social media becomes more popular with different generations, and if you want some information or guidance on how to deal with cyberbullying you can see some here: www.nationalbullyinghelpline.co.uk/cyberbullying.html
This year especially has been a challenging year for everyone, and so we all need to come together and support each other now more than ever. We have seen many examples of communities coming together already, such as helping out the vulnerable with shopping, key workers continuing to work even through lockdown, and people just reaching out to talk to those in need. All of this has led to the theme for this year’s anti bullying week: ‘United Against Bullying’. The aim is to have everyone come together and help reduce bullying through shared efforts and ambitions.
Even the smallest things can help to support organisations that are trying to stop bullying, one of the smaller things you can do is choose to take part in Odd Socks Day – a day during anti-bullying week that helps show everyone can be unique in their own way. All you have to do is wear odd socks on Monday 16th November to show your support, and if you want to donate to the cause, or read more about it, follow this link and read all about it: www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/anti-bullying-week/odd-socks-day/what-odd-socks-day
So, this week try and stop the cycle of bullying by remembering that every action has a reaction – change can start with us, and we are together against bullying.