
The end of October marks the passing of National Bullying Prevention Month in the United States, closely followed by Bullying Awareness Week in Canada, which is observed from
November 13th to 19th.
Bullying Awareness Week was started in 2004 by Canadian educator Bill Belsey, and two years later, theU.S. began observing its own National Bullying Prevention Awareness Week before it became a month-long observance in 2010.
Since 2010, both campaigns have gained serious momentum, being discussed in print, broadcast, radio and online media, as well as being portrayed in several popular television series such as the hit TV musical Glee.
Other campaigns have also sprung up in order to raise awareness about the dangers of bullying, such as the It Gets Better Project, which was launched by American media pundit Dan Savage and his husband Terry Miller in September 2010, in response to the ever-increasing number of teenagers who commit suicide due to being bullied for being gay.
The site, itgetsbetter.org, features an ever-expanding pool of videos uploaded by users - both straight and members of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered) community - sharing their stories of dealing with bullying and encouraging those watching, specifically high school teens, to remember that things will get better.
Users range from gay and straight celebrities to adults who have lived through bullying, and even kids who are currently dealing with bullying, all delivering the message that it does get better.
The message isn’t directed solely at LGBT youth, but also at any teen struggling with the daily physical and psychological torment of being bullied.
While I am glad to see the issue being discussed openly through several platforms, the fact of the matter is that talking about it and telling kids to keep their chin up alone doesn’t solve the problem.
Personally, I was bullied from such a young age that I cannot directly pinpoint the exact time when the problem started.
I was overweight, awkward, geeky, emotional, strange, loud, lived in a small house in the wrong part of town, didn’t wear top brand clothing, and my family didn’t have a lot of money.
All of these things provided the ammunition necessary to evoke an onslaught of bullying and name-calling by not only kids my age, but also those younger and older than me.