#SafeAllies: What Can I Do About Bullying?
Everyone in the community has a part to play in prevention and response to bullying. Youth and adults should report bullying when it occurs. Reporting can occur in person (a trusted adult), in writing or via Safe Voice Nevada. Be kind to the youth who is being bullied, try to include them and treat them with respect. Youth especially, should share their ideas about what might help to eliminate or reduce bullying in their school with a teacher, counselor or parents.
Schools can be proactive by ensuring that they establish a supportive and safe school climate and provide bullying curriculum to their students, teachers and staff.
Parents are key in prevention and response as well. Oftentimes, children and youth may not feel like they can tell anyone that they’re being bullied. If your youth displays any type of behavioral or emotional change this could be a sign that they’re struggling and seeking counseling might help them open up. If you are concerned that your youth is in immediate risk of harming themselves or others, contact the Nevada Children’s Mobile Crisis Response Team or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
Prevention and Response Resources
Prevention
- Common Points of View about Bullying
- What can Parents, Educators and Community Do?
- Military Connected Youth & Bullying
- Distance Learning Bullying Resources
- Middle/High School Bullying Curriculum
- Elementary School Bullying Curriculum
- All In Distance Learning Curriculum
- What To Do If Your Child is Bullying
- Bullying & Trauma
- Bullying Prevention Resource Guide
Advocacy
Advocacy is necessary in bullying prevention as well as bullying response. Three types of advocacy are self-advocacy, individual advocacy and systems change advocacy.
Self-Advocacy refers to knowing your rights, speaking up for yourself, and making your own decisions.
Individual Advocacy refers to someone who is helping to solve a problem with and/or for an individual. These advocates are sometimes parents, grandparents, friends, other family members or someone from Nevada PEP.
Systems Change Advocacy is when there is a problem that impacts more than one individual and change is needed in policies, laws or regulations to address the problem.
All three forms of advocacy are critical to addressing the very real problem of bullying and all of us can be part of the solution!