Today it is 11 years since Jokin Cebeiro (a 14-year-old teenager) committed suicide: he launched himself from the wall of Hondarribia because he was not able to bear the humiliation and physical aggression that he had suffered for a year. Before him, other children and young people had been bullied; After that date (unfortunately) bullying has continued to occur, and since the development of Social Networks and instant messaging, victims are subjected to constant harassment, whether they receive it on their mobile devices or if destructive content is generated about them. The one that I am going to present to you today is not the first well-planned and carried out prevention initiative in our country; but it is the most global, more information below.
Jokin's case was the first to be recognized, we finally opened our eyes, and they spoke without fear of a terrible problem. Today we know that it leaves traces on the person, and that it can cause physical and psychological problems even after adulthood.
Do you think that social conscience has changed? Personally, I think that it may have been modified (slightly), however, do you not use the expression 'they are only children's things'? Of course it sounds familiar to you, because we continue to hear it in our environment. It is probably an indicator of the low value it has, and that it is not considered serious, as is the case with gender violence; and it is that minors are ignored, and their problems seem trivial to us. But it is not only those six suicides between September 2004 and March 2014, which should alert us, because behind the harassment behaviors (as frequent as it is probably happening at your children's school) there are many children suffering, and a good part of them are defenseless due to the passivity of adults.
The Spanish Association for the Prevention of School Harassment (AEPAE) is founder of the National Plan against School Harassment, initiative that was presented last Friday. Be part of a key idea: 'children and adolescents, have right to attend your school safely, in an environment free of aggressions that does not cause fear ”. This entity is made up of professionals from different sectors, and also by mothers and fathers of victims, all of them very committed to the fight against bullying.
This National Plan is composed of several interventions
- Incidence analysis: using a test that will allow precise, objective and scientific evaluation.
- Awareness in classrooms, to students and teachers. It is intended that they learn to detect and differentiate bullying from any other specific conflict.
- Talk to parents about early detection, prevention and intervention in cases of bullying.
- Training for two students from each classroom, which allows them to intervene by breaking the vicious circle of the passive spectator; and simultaneously exercising surveillance tasks.
- Implementation of an action protocol to protect the victim.
The computer game Monité against bullying, as well as its support guides, which will allow structuring monthly activities as a common thread
In addition to all this, victims will benefit from training in verbal and physical tools that allow them to regain self-esteem and confidence. There is one aspect that I consider key, and for which I congratulate AEPAE: the Plan they have designed allows schools to integrate it naturally into their operation, with the aim of preventing violence; in this way it will be possible to be present throughout the academic year.
At the beginning of this post, I made a somewhat daring statement, related to the modification of the collective consciousness. You will see, the most complete study (so far) carried out at the European level, It is called Cisneros X, and dates from 2007. Almost 25 thousand children were evaluated from the second year of Primary in 14 autonomous communities of our country. The incidence rate was 24 percent. Later (2012) the Basque Institute for Educational Evaluation and Research, it showed a somewhat lower figure, but also worrying (21%); and only among third cycle primary school students.
Studies indicate the most frequent bullying behaviors: blocking, harassment, manipulation, coercion, exclusion, intimidation, aggression and threats
The eradication of bullying is a collective matter and there are several factors that influence, But if those of us who have responsibility stop wringing out the bulge (including parents), the situation will probably improve. That is why I am very happy with the project that AEPAE is beginning to develop.
Image - (last) Betrayed