Bullying Prevention Tips For Youth, By Youth © 2021 Facebook
- Be inclusive
We can prevent bullying when we create a culture of acceptance and safety. To do this, we stand in solidarity with people who are targets of bullying, celebrate our differences and make it clear that aggressive, mean behavior is never welcome.
- Build skills
In most bullying situations, there is usually an aggressor (the person involved in bullying behavior), a target (the person being bullied), and a bystander. The best strategies to prevent bullying address each of these roles.
- Empower action
When bystanders ignore bullying behavior, aggressors can feel justified in their actions. However, when bystanders interrupt bullying, the behavior is more likely to stop or be less harmful.
Here are some ways to interrupt bullying:
- Distract from the situation: ask the person who is being bullied a question or invite them to join you in an activity.
- Calmly tell the aggressor to stop.
- Seek help from a trusted adult.
- Do what you can to support the target in removing themselves from the situation.
- Speak up
One of the most important things we can do to prevent bullying in the first place is to know one another and build healthy relationships. Encourage people to speak openly about their differences – it’s important to learn about one another from a new perspective. We don’t have to agree about everything, but we should strive to understand and respect each other’s differences.
- Set expectations
If you’re a part of a community organization or other type of social group, work with the leaders to establish ground rules for acceptable behavior. Posting expectations or policies about behavior on social media in a visible location within the group helps keep everyone accountable and safe. 6. Keep going Take your bullying prevention messages into the wider community and use social media to spread information about bullying prevention.