Why did the PROJECT CHANGE teens think that bullying was a problem that needed to be addressed by beginning the YHTP! program? Isn’t bullying just a normal thing that all kids go through? Doesn’t it just toughen kids up so they can face the challenges of adulthood? Isn’t it really ‘no big deal’?

Actually, bullying is NOT a natural “rite of passage.” The PROJECT CHANGE students learned about bullying at a youth safety seminar. What they learned convinced them that bullying is a misunderstood problem with lots of negative consequences for everyone involved.

So, what IS bullying?

• deliberate behavior intended to cause harm or distress;
• usually repeated over time; and
• involves an imbalance of power or strength. (The imbalance might not be obvious to everyone, but the ”target” and the “bully” both perceive who is the more powerful.)

Bullying situations involve some or all of the following:

• bully
• target/victim
• bystander (observes bullying, but doesn’t intervene)
• ally (supports the target, either at the time of the bullying or soon afterwards)

There are different kinds of bullying:

Direct bullying
     • Hitting, kicking, shoving, spitting
     • Taunting, teasing, racial slurs, verbal harassment
     • Threatening, obscene gestures
Indirect bullying
     • Getting another person to bully someone for you
     • Spreading rumors
     • Deliberately excluding someone from a group or activity

Cyberbullying (using instant messaging, text messaging, Facebook, MySpace, etc. to bully) can be either direct or indirect.