This is a petition to pass an Anti-bullying law, to prohibit harassment, intimadation, and bullying in our school system. All children have the right to obtain an education without fear. Schools should be a save haven for our children. Unfortunately, this is far from being the case.
Victims of bullies often fear school and consider it to be an unsafe and unhappy place. Victims will often stay home sick rather than have to deal with being a victim of abuse. Bullying is increasingly recognized as a serious problem in schools throughout the united states and other countries. Victims of Bullying are correlated with student absenteeism,poor academic achievement, social isolation and internalizing problems such as depression,anxiety and poor psychosocial adjustment. Reasearch suggest that many of the negitive effects associated with childhood victimization continue into adulthood.
Victims experience real suffering that can interfere with their social and emotional development, as well as their school performance. Some victims of bullying have attempted suicide rather than continue to endure such harassment and abuse. Other victims have taken out their anger and frustration in violence. Most of the young people who have caused school related violent deaths have been victims of bullying. Experts, pointing to such tragic events as Littleton, and other school shootings, agree that bullying can lead to serious violence, including murder and suicide. Research suggests that many of the negative effects associated with childhood victimization continue into adulthood. We have allowed a culture of abuse to thrive unchecked in our nation's schools and we are paying for it with the bodies and minds of our children. Bullying is dangerously underrated, as schools and adults are not taking the problem seriously enough. The victims are not at fault! One problem being we have a whole generation of adults in the educational system that still veiws bullying as "just the way it is, telling the victims of abuse " just don't fuel the bully".
Many parents also suffer due to Bullying. Victims often have to attend therapy due to their becoming angry and misunderstood. They quit communicating with their parents or loved ones. They feel isolated and alone. The parents become frustrated watching their children going through such a tragic thing and not being able to do much more than complain. We need an anti bullying law in place. Please help pass the anti-bullying law to prohibit harassment, intimidation or bullying in our school systems and to protect our children.
Thank you.
