Updates
March 11, 2015
The people in charge are choosing to look away while this abuse destroys lives every single day. I am tired of the excuses and the silence from our representatives regarding these brutal attacks. We are forcing this conversation into the daylight until they have no choice but to face the reality of what they are allowing.
March 11, 2015
The sheer scale of this response proves that the Irish government can no longer ignore the destruction caused by bullies. Legislators have been hiding behind their inaction for too long while people suffer. We are building the momentum needed to force them to finally label this abuse as the crime it is.
8 Comments
its about time this was looked at. so many kids are suffering and the people doing it just get away with it because there isnt a law against it. needs to change now.
any form of bullying should be criminalised. too many people think they can make other peoples lives hell and thats fun. the sooner its criminalised the better
great topic for discussion
Thanks for your questions Robert. In relation to your first question, Bullying is described as aggressive behavior normally characterized by repetition and imbalance of power (Smith and Brain 2000). This indicates that people who perpetrate bullying are using power over more vulnerable people to make themselves feel better. When comparing this act to other vulnerable populations, society and legislation does its best to protect the most vulnerable people in society however there is no legislation to protect victims of bullying. In relation to your first question: Acts of bullying such as physically hitting someone is illegal under the term of Assault. Physically, emotionally and psychological abuse of a child by an adult are illegal under child protection. However there is no legislation protecting children from other children carrying out these acts. Whilst most schools claim to have a bullying charter, bullying is still happening and with schools unable to deal with bullying in many cases, the only option is to legislate for it. In the current time cyber bullying is becoming more prevalent and we have seen a dramatic increase in teen suicides in Ireland in recent years as a result of cyber bullying. Particularly so in relation to activity over social media sites. Again there is no legislation to prevent this from happening. Acts aimed to be legislated for are all types of bullying by an individual or a group that can not be dealt with at local level prior to involvement of a legal representative and all cyber bullying. 2: The idea of making it a criminal offence is down to the inability of schools and adults being able to deal with bullying effectively. Adults cannot tell off a child for bullying as they fear they could be accused of abusing a child under child protection guidelines. If an adult does tell off a child, the child may just do it again and in effect, this has no effect on the bullying. If there is legislation that can effectively manage the bullyi
Hi Erin. Interesting topic and proposition. However, I have some issues with the idea that I believe need to be debated and reasoned about in order for this idea to have any real influence and credibility. Firstly, what acts specifically will be characterised and where do you draw the line with this? Secondly, what is the explicit idea behind making bullying a criminal offence? In others words, what do you hope this will achieve and why? Intuitively, I am not sure if formally criminalising people who act in a way that is perceived as bullying will decrease bully rates, and if it does, what happens to the people who have bullied? Maybe they bully for a reason or have issues of there own (that may partially cause them to bully) that may be better handled through an understanding and address of these underlying issues. Would criminalising them, and, consequently, labelling them as bad and blameworthy in a public way overlook these issues? I would think so. I am no expert, but I do think these questions need to be seriously reflected upon and addressed before this petition is signed. Anyone care to respond?
A very worthy cause!
this is a very good cause, best of luck
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Updates
March 11, 2015
The people in charge are choosing to look away while this abuse destroys lives every single day. I am tired of the excuses and the silence from our representatives regarding these brutal attacks. We are forcing this conversation into the daylight until they have no choice but to face the reality of what they are allowing.
March 11, 2015
The sheer scale of this response proves that the Irish government can no longer ignore the destruction caused by bullies. Legislators have been hiding behind their inaction for too long while people suffer. We are building the momentum needed to force them to finally label this abuse as the crime it is.
8 Comments
Absolutely. I still encounter bullying as an adult in many forms. Noisy neighbours, pushfull government policies that people try say they do not want, and many more. They are all hurtful and stressfull to people, making their lives a lot less pleasurable than they coild be. This is such pressious time wasted and ruined in people's lives that will never be getten back. Absolutely make it a crime. If it's a crime to not pay car tax or a tv licence, then it most certainly needs to be a crime to bor time and happiness from someone.
its about time this was looked at. so many kids are suffering and the people doing it just get away with it because there isnt a law against it. needs to change now.
any form of bullying should be criminalised. too many people think they can make other peoples lives hell and thats fun. the sooner its criminalised the better
great topic for discussion
Thanks for your questions Robert. In relation to your first question, Bullying is described as aggressive behavior normally characterized by repetition and imbalance of power (Smith and Brain 2000). This indicates that people who perpetrate bullying are using power over more vulnerable people to make themselves feel better. When comparing this act to other vulnerable populations, society and legislation does its best to protect the most vulnerable people in society however there is no legislation to protect victims of bullying. In relation to your first question: Acts of bullying such as physically hitting someone is illegal under the term of Assault. Physically, emotionally and psychological abuse of a child by an adult are illegal under child protection. However there is no legislation protecting children from other children carrying out these acts. Whilst most schools claim to have a bullying charter, bullying is still happening and with schools unable to deal with bullying in many cases, the only option is to legislate for it. In the current time cyber bullying is becoming more prevalent and we have seen a dramatic increase in teen suicides in Ireland in recent years as a result of cyber bullying. Particularly so in relation to activity over social media sites. Again there is no legislation to prevent this from happening. Acts aimed to be legislated for are all types of bullying by an individual or a group that can not be dealt with at local level prior to involvement of a legal representative and all cyber bullying. 2: The idea of making it a criminal offence is down to the inability of schools and adults being able to deal with bullying effectively. Adults cannot tell off a child for bullying as they fear they could be accused of abusing a child under child protection guidelines. If an adult does tell off a child, the child may just do it again and in effect, this has no effect on the bullying. If there is legislation that can effectively manage the bullyi
Hi Erin. Interesting topic and proposition. However, I have some issues with the idea that I believe need to be debated and reasoned about in order for this idea to have any real influence and credibility. Firstly, what acts specifically will be characterised and where do you draw the line with this? Secondly, what is the explicit idea behind making bullying a criminal offence? In others words, what do you hope this will achieve and why? Intuitively, I am not sure if formally criminalising people who act in a way that is perceived as bullying will decrease bully rates, and if it does, what happens to the people who have bullied? Maybe they bully for a reason or have issues of there own (that may partially cause them to bully) that may be better handled through an understanding and address of these underlying issues. Would criminalising them, and, consequently, labelling them as bad and blameworthy in a public way overlook these issues? I would think so. I am no expert, but I do think these questions need to be seriously reflected upon and addressed before this petition is signed. Anyone care to respond?
A very worthy cause!
this is a very good cause, best of luck
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Absolutely. I still encounter bullying as an adult in many forms. Noisy neighbours, pushfull government policies that people try say they do not want, and many more. They are all hurtful and stressfull to people, making their lives a lot less pleasurable than they coild be. This is such pressious time wasted and ruined in people's lives that will never be getten back. Absolutely make it a crime. If it's a crime to not pay car tax or a tv licence, then it most certainly needs to be a crime to bor time and happiness from someone.