Momentum is building to strongly address bullying of youngsters in America. A new documentary movie about bullying will be available at theaters in our area, perhaps as early as this week. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Education have cooperated to revitalize a Stop Bullying website to encourage children, parents, educators, and communities to take action to stop and prevent bullying. Other anti-bullying activities are taking place in our community.
The government website, www.stopbullying.gov, provides a map with detailed information on state laws and policies, interactive webisodes and videos for young people, practical strategies for schools and communities to ensure safe environments, and suggestions on how parents can talk about this sensitive subject with their children. The site also explores the dangers of cyberbullying and steps youngsters and parents can take to fight it. There also is a “Get Help” page, which is directly linked to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which provides young people with immediate help for themselves or others if needed.
“Bully,” Lee Hirsch’s documentary film about the misery some children inflict upon others, arrives at a moment when bullying, long tolerated as a fact of life, is being redefined as a social problem. “Just kids being kids” can no longer be an acceptable response to the kind of sustained physical and emotional abuse that damages the lives of young people whose only sin is appearing weak or weird to their peers.
Following five kids and families in four states over the course of a school year, the film confronts bullying’s most tragic outcomes, including the stories of two families who’ve lost children to suicide and a mother who waits to learn the fate of her 14-year-old daughter, incarcerated after bringing a gun on her school bus.
With access to the Sioux City (Iowa) Community School District, the film also gives an intimate glimpse into school buses, classrooms, cafeterias and even principals’ offices, offering insight into the often cruel world of children, as teachers, administrators and parents struggle to find answers.
While the stories examine the dire consequences of bullying, they also give testimony to the courage and strength of the victims of bullying and seek to inspire real changes in the way people deal with bullying.
Originally rated “R” by the Motion Picture Association of America’s ratings board, which would prevent most teenagers from seeing the film unless accompanied by a parent, the film was released in late March unrated. The rating was lowered to PG-13 last Thursday after some profanity was cut from the movie.
Research shows that students who are bullied are more likely to struggle in school and skip class. They are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, be depressed, and are at higher risk of suicide.
“Bullying is not just an education or health problem, it is a community problem,” said Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. “We are committed to working together at the federal level to help communities, schools and families address it as a single problem.”
The reworking of the government website is a response to feedback from a White House Conference on Bullying Prevention held in March 2011 and a Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention Summit held in September that awareness alone will not prevent bullying. The site now gives concrete steps that students, parents, educators and community members can take to prevent and stop bullying.
“We’ve come a long way in the past year in educating the public about the health and educational impacts that bullying can have on students. But simply being aware of the problem is not enough,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “Everyone has a role to play, and StopBullying.gov features ways we can all take action against bullying.”
You can follow StopBullying.Gov on Twitter 
or Facebook for more information on how to take action to stop bullying. For information about local responses to bullying, such as classroom discussions, outside experts speaking to students and parents, and cooperative activities among the school districts, call 2-1-1, or 1-800-901-2180.
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