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The Anti-Bullying Movement
Response to the Anti-Bullying Movement:

In the 2000s and 2010s, a cultural movement against bullying gained popularity in the English-speaking world. There was a large response to this cultural movement and many new organizations and events were created. Perhaps one of the most well-known responses to this movement was the naming of October as the National Bullying Prevention Month. This month became this important event in 2006 when it was named in response to the bullying prevention movement. There are many activities that citizens can participate in such as the October 6th which is national “Run, Walk, Roll against Bullying” that is open to the public in many areas. There is also Unity Day on October 10th and anyone who supports the cause can wear orange. To participate in the movement you can sign up for petitions online as well as sign up to receive information sent to you about the month at this link Www.pace.org/bullying/nbpm.

In response to the anti-bullying movement within classrooms, many educators began to increase bullying education amongst students, which was typically highly effecting in the prevention of bullying. An example of this effective prevention method is using the TAB (Teasing and Bullying: Unacceptable Behavior) program. This program was one of many trials implemented in schools. After thoroughly testing the TAB program on stuttering students and non-stuttering students it was found that this method created a positive change. The research concludes that this program created a good change that affected the “peer attitudes” towards children who stuttered and therefore decreased bullying.

Another example of an important response to the Anti-bullying movement is the creation one National No Name Calling Week. This week begins is January 23-27th and its target audience is children in schools. Since bullying is so prevalent in many schools, this week was implemented as a response to the anti-bullying movement. This event was inspired by the book “The Misfits” by James Howe and was created by GLSEN and Simon & Schuster Children's publishing. This popular week has many national partners and sponsors who support it. This particular event targets name calling in schools and seeks to eliminate name calling all together. On the website, www.nonamecallingweek.org anyone can access resources and toolkits about this event and how to implement it. This event is another example of the important movements created to prevent bullying in America.

The “Be More Then a Bystander” campaign is another example of a response to the prevention of bullying. This campaign was created by the Advertising Council and is focused on the prevention of children who are simply bystanders to bullying. This act is a different type of anti-bullying movement because unlike many campaigns, it targets the bystander. The campaign uses online, television and print adds to support the bystander to prevent the bullying by reporting it the first time it is seen or helping the victim in need. This campaign is unique because of its aim towards the bystander but like many other acts is a response to the anti-bullying movement.

Anti-Bullying and the Political Response:

Although bullying had been an issue before, the anti-bullying movement became extremely large and popular around the year 2000 after the Columbine High School Shooting in 1999. This event signaled the wave to prevent bullying across America and created a government response. In response, in 2000, the government created the “Children's Online Privacy Protection Act” which allowed parents to have the power to limit what their children were accessing online. After MySpace (2002) and Facebook (2004) were launched and in 2006, the suicide of Megan Meier, called for a government response on stricter laws on internet harassment. The suicide of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi pushed New Jersey to pass new anti-bullying legislation and the suicide of Phoebe Prince pushed Massachusetts’ new laws as well.

In most recent news the American States and Government had a large response to the anti-bullying movement by setting laws and restrictions against bullying. 49 states in America have created laws against bullying and the only state yet to set a law regarding bullying is Montana. Many of the bills passed against bullying in these states are targeting cyber bullying because this issue has become more prevalent in the digital age. On February 14th-16th, 2011 there was the first National Conference held on the prevention of bullying. In response, Senator Al Franken introduced new legislation that would ban bullying based on gender and sexual orientation in schools. This legislation was quickly endorsed by the Obama Administration on April 20th 2012.

The current president and the Obama Administration have had a great deal of influence on the current politics regarding anti-bullying. In March 2011 president Obama and wife Michelle held a conference to push anti-bullying efforts in schools nationwide. During conference, Obama explained to the audience that the white house is a “partner” to all those who are victims of bullying. The conference, created by the Education Department, resulted in the creation of www.Stopbullying.gov. This website contains information about bullying and is a resource for teachers, students and those who are being bullied. The conference also resulted in the Education Department sending letters that reminded teachers of their legal obligations to protect children from bullying and sent resources to each state to help them in the fight against bullying. This conference prompted important information for schools on preventing bullying and how vital this prevention is to the students and their safety.

Resources:

In response to the vast wave towards the prevention of bullying and the anti-bullying movement there were many websites and organizations created to help parents and teachers educate their children. One of the most important resources regarding the prevention of bullying is www.stopbullying.gove. The Obama administration created www.stopbullying.gov which is an informative source that provides information about bullying in general, prevention, responding to bullying and who is at risk. This website also contains information about cyber bullying and how parents can prevent this type of bullying. This website is a great source for more information on the prevention of bullying and also an example of the America’s response to the anti-bullying movement.