Education Survey Calls For More Action To Be Taken Over Bullying

Education Survey Calls For More Action To Be Taken Over Bullying: More than half of the children in Wales have witnessed bullying on grounds of disability, sexuality or cultural background. Young people across the county were responding to a questionnaire released by Barnardo’s Cymru to mark the start of Anti-Bullying Week. Among respondents, the majority (84%) cited that more should be done to stop bullying.

Education Survey Calls For More Action To Be Taken Over Bullying

Education Survey Calls For More Action To Be Taken Over Bullying

The survey which received 644 responses – mainly from schoolchildren, youth groups and users of the charity’s services – found that almost three-fifths (58%) of respondents had seen bullying as a result of disability or special needs and half (51%) had witnessed bullying due to race or cultural background.

Vikki Butler, Barnardo’s Cymru Policy and Research Officer, said:

“If we are to reduce bullying and tackle it effectively we need to believe the accounts of children and young people, and free schools from the stigma that comes with acknowledging bullying… Many schoolchildren that are being bullied could be saved from horrific experiences if there was more support.”

Meanwhile, Ditch The Label – an anti-bullying charity – published findings which show that young people feel the current levels of education and support for victims of bullying are not sufficient. Two-fifths (42%) of young people want more education on minority groups and equality, while a further 38% said they wanted to see an increase in education about effect of bullying on young people.

In addition, the findings also suggest that more than two-thirds (69%) of young people have been victims of cyber-bullying.

Liam Hackett, Founder of Ditch the Label, said:

“Our recent survey illustrates that bullying and cyber-bullying in particular, are reaching epidemic proportions… Radical new approaches need to be taken to counteract a problem that has profound and long lasting effects on young people in the UK.”

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