In the early 2000s a new movement began, against a lower form of crime which has been rampant through centuries, has been reported and recorded over many years but no concrete solution has been reached so far. Innumerable individuals each year, face emotional, psychological, physical and mental trauma due to this low level crime that gets triggered due to innumerable reasons. Students in particular face this problem of offense in the form of insinuation and intimidation. The horrifying truth however is that criminals and tormentors who commit this crime go unpunished and free, adding to the misery of victims. What is this form of “crime”? What is it known as and why is it so rampant and distributed so widely throughout the world? Why hasn’t there been recognition of the gravity of such a wrongdoing. This is notorious criminality is known as bullying all over the globe, and is faced by so many all over the globe every day.
Bullying may be defined as the action of repetitive, hostile conduct intended to upset another individual, physically or mentally. Bullying is considered as an individual behaving in a definite way to gain power over another person. It is a practice of using force to abuse or intimidate, generally upon individuals who are physically, religiously, sexually or emotionally vulnerable, with obvious intentions of wrong doings (Cardemil, 2009). However, there is no well demarcated definition of what exactly a bully may be. But for the one who has to face bullying, the trauma requires no definition or explanation.
A bully may be a single individual, in groups or someone over the internet. The exact reason for such behavior is unknown. It is speculated the reasons may range from misplaced sense of superiority to even psychological condition due to any number of problems a bully must be facing. Sometimes, it is beyond the bully’s comprehension that their action would be inflicting mental and physical pain upon someone. This tendency is seen more often in school going teenagers and is hence taken as childish behavior, and not handled with the appropriate attention that it should be addressed with. For that very reason, bullies are found more in educational institutions, from schools to colleges and university campuses.
What is so grave about the situation is the sheer number of victims and the unimaginably small number of rectifying actions taken against cases of bullying. The main reason being this that the concerned authorities yet do not recognize bullying as offence, and unfortunately a lapse in corrective measures occurs. The direct result of this is upon the victim who has to face bullying again and again. The problem worsens if concerned authorities are contacted and asked to take disciplinary measures against bullies, the bullies get enraged and the situation becomes more and more dubious for the victim. The victim is further tortured as a form of punishment for informing authorities (Toews, 2003).
The situation may seem very desolate, but awareness has begun to spread, at least in the English speaking world. Charity funded organizations like have sprung up, working day and night to help in redressing problems for victims. Parents are slowly taking initiative in understanding their crucial role in fighting back this malpractice. Rights are being counted and as a very good move the USA government has addressed the problem at senate level, though European response has been slow, but hopes are high that it will catch momentum very soon (BB, 2002). The menace can be diminished and eradicated, but only with the support from parents and children, not only just victims but people who are responsible towards a good society. The task is great to achieve this goal but is not unachievable and is worth fighting for, to build a better society complete with balanced, healthy and responsible individuals, a promising tomorrow that is worth the effort.
Works Cited
Toews, Rita Y (2003). The Bully: A Discussion and Activity Story
ISBN 978-0-9736224-0-9
Beat Bullying (BB, 2002): Shaping Attitudes Changing Behaviors; UK Based Charity firm http://archive.beatbullying.org/index.html. Accessed July 8, 2013
Pollastri AR, Cardemil EV, O'Donnell, EH; Cardemil (December 2009). "Self-Esteem in Pure Bullies and Bully/Victims: A Longitudinal Analysis". Journal of Interpersonal Violence 25 (8): 1489–502. Doi: 10.1177/0886260509354579. PMID 20040706
