Skip to content

Bullying Awareness Week goes from Nov. 15 to 21

Stand Up to Bullying! That's the message the founders of bullying.org are spreading during the seventh annual Bullying Awareness Week, going from Nov. 15 to the 21 all across Canada.
GB200910311189999AR.jpg
Constables Chad Yerex and Lois Cormier are working on many different initiatives from Nov. 15 to the 21, recognized nation-wide as Bullying Awareness Week.

Stand Up to Bullying! That's the message the founders of bullying.org are spreading during the seventh annual Bullying Awareness Week, going from Nov. 15 to the 21 all across Canada.

There are many events happening all over the City of Thompson to commemorate the week and to raise awareness about the harmful affects of bullying - both on the people who are bullied, the bullies themselves and anyone else involved in the problem.

Cons. Lois Cormier with the Thompson RCMP has taken part in Bullying Awareness Week for six years now. She says that she believes bullying is an issue not just in Thompson but throughout the province and across the country, with lasting negative affects.

"What you'll find is that when bullying has been happening in the younger years, if it's not dealt with early on, then it actually progresses into adulthood where 60 per cent of bullies, by the age of 24, will end up with a criminal record." She also says that classroom bullying can translate, in adulthood, into domestic violence, spousal assaults and bullying in the work place.

Cormier says it's important to realize that bullying isn't just a physical thing, and that the onslaught of stinging comments or even bullying through computer or text messaging, can be equally as damaging.

"If kids are being cyber bullied at home, some kids may fear to go to school because then they have to face their fears. We find with a lot of kids, it ends up in the school anyway. It doesn't matter if it's cyber bullying or violence that happens outside of school - all those issues get drawn into the school, no matter what," she notes.

Cormier says bullying is especially present in high school during Grades 9 and 10, when students are trying to find their place in the hierarchy of high school. She says this usually settles down when they reach Grades 11 and 12, when most students are focusing on getting a good education.

Some of the causes of bullying, Cormier says, can sometimes be having a bully as a parent or in your family. But she says the tables can often turn on parents and they can be bullied by their children.

"There are a lot of parents that could be living in fear if their children are bullying them. And depending on what crowd they're hanging out with - a lot of parents are living in fear when their children get into gang or gang wannabes."

Cormier says that kids who are being bullied should speak to an adult immediately, even if they find the idea intimidating.

"The longer they keep it in, the worse and harder it is to actually go and talk to somebody. Just because they go and speak to somebody doesn't mean that we or the counsellor will necessarily speak to the aggressor or bully. It just means that maybe the teachers or counsellors or principal can keep an eye open and actually catch the bully in the act."

She says it's also important for parents to be proactive about bullying and keep an open line of communication with their children. Parents can even go to school counsellors for help if they want more information on how to deal with bullying.

Presentations by Cormier and Const. Chad Yerex took place at R. D. Parker Collegiate for all Grades 9 and 10 students on Nov. 16, with an off-campus presentation taking place Nov. 17. The pair will be at the City Centre Mall on Nov. 21 at a booth that will give people more information about bullying and reveal the results of a bullying survey they sent out a few months ago.

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks