#NoBulliesAllowed

“Bullying builds character like nuclear waste creates superheroes. It’s a rare occurrence and often does much more damage than endowment.” said author, Zack W. Van.

We have all been bullied at some point in our lives. Taunted and hit in the classroom, called nasty names, excluded at the playground, cornered on the bus or had our lunch money stolen. Some of us continue to be bullied, long after our childhood days, because we didn’t have someone to stand up for us, or we didn’t have the courage or support to face the bully ourselves.

At its core, bullying is violence against children, against their rights to respect and dignity and infringes on the basic human rights values of inclusion, participation and non-discrimination. Allowing a bullying culture to flourish can have serious impact on a child’s physical, mental, moral and social development. One insidious though pervasive issue is the bullying culture in schools that today also finds a space online, oft shrugged off as a childhood rite of passage.

This week, #NoBulliesAllowed looks to create awareness, dialogue, share tips and solutions for children, parents and schools in tackling the widespread issue of bullying amongst children and adolescents, both online and offline.

'Coming Out' against childhood bullying

‘Coming Out’ against #childhood bullying. Join in on our Facebook live chat with Harrish Iyer, Equal rights activists, on Wednesday, 11th October at 2.00 PM! #NoBulliesAllowed

P.S- Send in your questions (and we promise to keep them anonymous)

Google form: http://bit.ly/2kA74H1

Understanding Bullying Before Addressing It

Children and adolescents face numerous forms of bullying…at home with siblings, in school with seniors and classmates, in the park with peers and friends…pushing them into isolation or indignation, fear or aggression, mental illnesses and failed relationships, and a spiral of unhappiness, caused by that one bully in their life. Often this bullying is not taken too seriously by parents, families and teachers, due to lack of understanding about what it means to be bullied or not having tangible solutions to rectify it. Here’s how you can understand bullying before addressing it. #NoBulliesAllowed

On-Line – Off-Track

Teaching #children to be safe online is as important as teaching them to cross the road correctly or light a matchstick carefully. The rules are the same as #safety in the real world. Chandrika Rao writes about equipping our children to deal with challenges they face today in the cyber world. #NoBulliesAllowed

Harrish Iyer on 'Coming Out' against Bullying

Befriending The Big Bad Bully

We are used to hearing about the problem of bullying and how parents and schools need to intervene. But here’s how Anushka Ganguly’s son learnt to befriend his bully, to set an example for many young boys like himself. #NoBulliesAllowed

The Bully In Us

For some reason parents place a great premium on their children “being tough”. What does “being tough” really mean? It means that children will not go crying to Mommy, Daddy or Teacher when things go wrong. They will use their words or if need be fists to deal with any situation.

How often does this defence mechanism turn into bullying behaviour? Almost always. Chandrika Rao says it is time to acknowledge the inner bully in us and show our child a better way to cope. #NoBulliesAllowed

How To Reduce The Risk Of Internet Stalkers Trapping Children Online

How to reduce the risk of internet stalkers trapping children online #NoBulliesAllowed

Silent (Mis)Treatment

“Sometimes bullies are your friends and bullying prevention tips don’t tell you how to deal with that.” But while it is clear that silent treatment is a part of bullying being a silent onlooker is also mistreatment. Chandrika Rao #NoBulliesAllowed

On How To Beat The Bully

A teenage girl affected by the death of another builds an app, parents affected by the suicide of their 11 year old child start a campaign, a school appoints anti-bullying ambassadors to deal with bullying, human and child rights organizations take a pledge to fight this menace through a community led initiative…If you’re looking for a way to beat the bully, read on. #NoBulliesAllowed

Unable To Beat The Bully

Bullying today is taking many forms… The blue whale that compels you to commit suicide, the online boyfriend who threatens to expose videos of you, the back bencher in school who forces you to do his homework, the group of popular girls who laugh at you for dressing differently, and the classmate who makes you do the wrong things… Studies show that every third child is bullied in schools in India. The numbers of such cases are alarming, and the stories are telling of a dangerous phenomena that has always existed, but continues to spiral with the advent and access of social media.

Bullying can be, and must be stopped. Here’s a listing of some of those cases that made it to the news, but could have seen a different ending. #NoBulliesAllowed

If you were bullied, share your story and use #IWasBulliedToo and help others come out too!