Steps to Take
If You Witness or Suspect Bullying
- Intervene immediately to stop the bullying behavior.
- Talk to the bully and the victim separately.
- If peer mediation is available, be careful about referring cases. If there is an imbalance of power in the mediation session, this could further traumatize the victim.
- Consult with other staff and your administrator and/or school counselor to get a total picture of the problem and to alert them to the problem.
- Expect that the bully will minimize or deny his/her behavior and responsibility. Refer to school codes/rules and state clearly the behavior you expect of them. Inform the bully what discipline consequences will be imposed and that his or her parents will be informed.
- Reassure the victim that all possible steps to prevent a recurrence will be used.
- Inform the parents of the bully and the victim before they get home. Better results are obtained when the parents are informed early in the process, before behavior patterns are entrenched and serious.
- Involve the parents in creating the plan of action.
- Involve victims in groups and activities where they can learn to make friends, reduce social isolation, and learn social skills including assertiveness skills. After-school programs can help with these skills.
- For bullies, specific re-education as to their behavior is necessary. Social skills activities which are designed to reduce aggressive behaviors, develop empathy for others, and teach the lifelong consequences of bullying have proven effective.
- Monitor the behavior of the bully and the safety of the victim on a school-wide basis.
- If the bully will not change his behavior, even after sanctions and remediation, then he should be the one removed from the classroom and transferred to another program. Consequences for the perpetrators are of considerable interest to all the students in the school and will set the tone for future situations.
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