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There are all kinds of reasons why young people bully others, either occasionally or often. Do any of these sound familiar to you?
• Because I see others doing it
• Because it's what you do if you want to hang out with the right crowd
• Because it makes me feel, stronger, smarter, or better than the person I'm bullying
• Because it's one of the best ways to keep others from bullying me
Whatever the reason, bullying is something we all need to think about. Whether we've done it ourselves ... or whether friends or other people we know are doing it ... we all need to recognize that bullying has a terrible effect on the lives of young people. It may not be happening to you today, but it could tomorrow. Working together, we can make the lives of young people better.
If you've ever heard an adult - or anyone else - say that bullying is "just a fact of life" or "no big deal," you're not alone! Too often, people just don't take bullying seriously - or until the sad and sometimes scary stories are revealed.
• It happens a lot more than some people think. Studies show that between 15-25% of U.S. students are bullied with some frequency, while 15-20% report they bully others with some frequency (Melton et al, 1988; Nansel et al, 2001).
• It can mess up a kid's future. Young people who bully are more likely than those who don't bully to skip school and drop out of school. They are also more likely to smoke, drink alcohol and get into fights (Nansel et al, 2003; Olweus, 1993).
• It scares some people so much that they skip school. As many as 160,000 students may stay home on any given day because they're afraid of being bullied (Pollack, 1998).
• It can lead to huge problems later in life. Children who bully are more likely to get into fights, vandalize property, and drop out of school. And 60% of boys who were bullies in middle school had at least one criminal conviction by the age of 24 (Olweus, 1993).
• People tend to ignore bullying or say: “that’s just how it is”, but you know better. Bullying is never okay. Bullying thrives when people look the other way but when the community pulls together, bullying becomes everyone’s issue. By working with each other, children, teens and adults can change what’s happening.
• At MVK, we promote bullying awareness in our community through exciting classes and teach our students how to handle and deal with these situations.
Look at the numbers. They are real scary:
• One rape or sexual assault occurs every two minutes.
• One violent crime occurs every five seconds in the U.S.
• 172 Women are physically and/or sexually assaulted every hour!
• 261,000 rapes and sexual assaults occurred in the U.S. in 2000.
• 90,186 forcible rapes in 2000 as reported to police.
• In the year 2000, 2.8 % of college women experienced rape in a six month U.S. Department of Justice study.
• 17% of rape or sexual assault victims were victimized by someone they knew!
• One murder occurs every 34 minutes.
Statistics from: National Center for Victims of Crime - Year 2000
Self-Defense Training
Be prepared when you encounter an attacker. These resources provide women's self-defense and personal protection training programs.
The best training involves scenarios that are close to reality. This includes awareness strategies, oral de-escalation skills, oral threat from an attacker. Being able to perform under adrenal stress is important, as in a real situation, and adrenaline dump into your system could cause you to freeze.
At MVK we will give you the tools to protect yourself, and how to deal with different real life situations.
Seminars of self defense will be available in the school. Please contact us for more information.
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