A few weeks ago, an incident outraged netizens about how a

Badjao girl was bullied in a reality TV show. Furthermore, a

timely challenge of posting a before and after picture of
yourself together with the hashtag
#BeCarefulWhoYouBullyChallenge went viral. Shockingly, a lot
of people shared their pictures and stories.

What does this really mean?

photo
credit: www.emaze.com
What is bullying?

Bullying is an act of unwanted and aggressive behavior

towards other people which may involve a real or perceived
power imbalance. Examples of bullying are making threats,
attacking someone physically or verbally, spreading rumors
or anything that may ruin a person’s image. This usually
starts during the school age but can be applied to all ages.

In the Philippines, 2 out of 10 children per day experience

being made fun of, name calling, and making the child do
something he/she doesn’t want to do. Since the statistics
were quite alarming, this prompted the House of
Representatives to approved a bill requiring elementary and
secondary schools to include and implement anti-bullying
policies in their students. To monitor its effectivity, the
schools are obligated to submit and report incidents to the
DepEd.

It can happen to anyone.

Bullying is not just present at school but it can also happen at
the workplace, or worse, at home. With the digital era rising,
bullying has now been upgraded to online bullying (or what
they call as cyber bullying). People can now silently harass or
terrorize anyone with just a click away. Many fall victims from
being a viral topic online that makes them uncomfortable,
powerless and even to the point of receiving death threats.
Sadly, the Philippines hold the fourth spot in countries which
are high in cyber bullying. Because of the increasing number
of bullying cases, the Social Media Regulation Act of 2014
was made. This is to address people who suffered mental and
psychological anguish from the act. Any person guilty of the
act will be penalize with six to 12 years of imprisonment and
a fine ranging between P30, 000 and P50,000 depending on
the court.

What can you do to stop Bullying?

 Be a role model.

Children often mimic what they see in older people. Impart

them with values of respect and empathy towards other
children.

 Talk to your children

Children will often be silent about being bullied. Encourage
them to share their experiences during the day. If they are
bullied, talk to them about how to properly handle the
situation and how to avoid such behavior.

 Build your support group

Everyone needs someone to talk to. Whether in school or

workplace, it is best to have someone you can rant on and
give you an advise.

 Learn the issue

Sometimes it can be just a simple miscommunication. It is

best to be educated and informed of the problem to be able
to find ways how to fix it.

 Stay strong

Bullying attacks your inner sense of confidence and self-

esteem. If you think you did not do something bad, do not let
it bring you down. Chin up and walk away.

 Talk to the person

Sometimes one solution to end the bullying is to directly

confront the person. This may have positive or negative
outcome but it can bring out the true cause of the bullying.

There are a lot of ways to stop bullying. We just have to start

within ourselves first and share to the community to do the
same.

TAGS: CYBER BULLYING, BULLYING