Counsellor urges learners to speak up about bullying
Signs that parents can be on the lookout for are social exclusion and a lack of self confidence and self care, among others.
Bullying is a painful reality for many learners. Boksburg Advertiser recently spoke to Zandrie de Beer, a HPCSA registered counsellor from Hoërskool Oosterlig, about bullying, who explained how bullying can be defined.
“Bullying refers to the systematic and ongoing infliction of physical or psychological distress on one or more learners, educators, non-educators, or visitors to the school premises.
“It is further defined as unwelcome and repeated written, verbal, or physical behaviour, including any threatening, insulting, or humiliating gestures by a learner or adult, which is serious or pervasive enough to create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive educational environment, cause discomfort or humiliation, or unreasonably interfere with the learner’s academic performance or participation,” said de Beer.
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Signs that parents can be on the lookout for are social exclusion and a lack of self confidence and self care, among others.
“A person who is being bullied will also often lose interest in things they were passionate about. Their academic performance will also deteriorate.”
De Beer pointed out that in many occasions people bully because they are being bullied.
“Someone might get bullied at home and now he is taking it out on people at school. The person might not get attention at home and now he is bullying at school to get attention. There is a reason why people are the way they are. You don’t just wake up one day and become a bully,” she said.
De Beer said that sometimes bullies seek reaction, and not giving them one can reduce their power.
Cyber bullying
“Cyber bullying is more prevalent than bullying in real-life at the moment. “It’s easier to say things while you are sitting behind a screen. People will say things online that they won’t necessarily have the guts to say to your face,” said De Beer.
Long-term effects
The counsellor said that bullying can affect people in the long term. “It can cause the victim to have a low self-esteem or to become a bully.”
She further advises learners to report bullying to a trustworthy adult such as a teacher instead of taking matters into their own hands.
“If you witness bullying, don’t take videos and share it around because you might cause more harm. Get the relevant authorities involved. Be a support network and don’t keep quiet.”
Furthermore, she said that she is working closely with teachers.
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