Emily-Ann Deley had gone from school to school to escape her bullies. For years she didn鈥檛 succeed.
鈥淚 ran away from the bullies. But there鈥檚 bullies in every school,鈥� Deley, 16, said. 鈥淚 kind of just kept to myself and didn鈥檛 say anything.鈥�
Her experience is not uncommon.
In Canada, between four and 12 per cent of students in grades 6 through 10 said they had been bullied once a week or more, according to . Many never report it.
For Deley, most of the bullying was physical or verbal.
鈥淎 lot of kids got pushed against lockers,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he older kids made the Grade 8s and everything feel small. They would take their anger out on us.鈥�
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That same kind of face-to-face bullying is what Nick Riemersma, 15, experienced as well.
鈥淲hen it comes to bullying, everyone is just like鈥斺�� he punched the air as an example.
鈥淯sually it鈥檚 talk for five seconds then fists are thrown.鈥�
Riemersma said he was bullied for three years before it finally came to an end.
鈥淲hen I got bullied, I just kept it to myself,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 pictured it as someone with a knife and they were sharpening it. And that knife just kept getting sharper and sharper and sharper, and then one day it just breaks.
鈥淎nd then that鈥檚 when you get suspended.鈥�
Brayden Drewes, 16, was bullied by the same person who picked on Riemersma.
鈥淭hen (the bully) broke his nose, then he kinda stopped because everyone kind of hated him,鈥� he said, looking at Riemersma.
According to the same 2008 study, physical bullying has been on the rise since 2002. Deley, Riemersma and Drewes could probably attest to that. But they also brought up another source of bullying that has become increasingly common: the internet.
According to , nearly one in five young Canadians had experienced cyber-bullying in 2014. A 2016 had that number even higher, with one in four Canadians being harassed on social media. The incidents can come through social media channels like Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat, but also less expected venues.
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鈥淪ay for video games, you could have a secret name and they don鈥檛 know who you are,鈥� Riemersma said. 鈥淎nd they could be saying things about someone.鈥�
鈥淎nd some kids don鈥檛 even care about the fake account,鈥� Clayton Richardson, 16, added.
鈥淭hey鈥檒l write it on their own account, just so people know they鈥檙e the bully.鈥�
鈥淭o show that they鈥檙e popular,鈥� Riemersma agreed. 鈥淏ecause they seem cooler.鈥�
So how do teens deal with bullying?
As Deley and Riemersma know, avoiding the problem or fighting it out aren鈥檛 always the way to go.
(鈥淒on鈥檛 always just think of flying fury,鈥� Riemersma said.)
The teens had come up with some unusual ideas for dealing with cyber-bullying. Riemersma suggested putting the bullies on a 鈥渨all of shame,鈥� while Richardson decided he would print out each of the bully鈥檚 messages and paste them around the school.
鈥淭hat way everyone knows this person is a cyber-bully,鈥� he said.
But for all the liveliness of their suggested actions, the one they came back to again and again was simple: tell someone.
鈥淧robably there鈥檚 kids out there that are being bullied, but they don鈥檛 say anything because they don鈥檛 want to seem like a snitch,鈥� Riemersma said. 鈥淚t happens a lot.鈥�
There鈥檚 the fear that 鈥渟nitching鈥� will cause the bully to make it worse, maybe even take the bullying after school where teachers can鈥檛 intervene. But, all agreed that telling is better than the alternative.
鈥淪ay something,鈥� Deley said. 鈥淪tand up and go talk to a teacher or something.鈥�
鈥淪tick up for yourself,鈥� Riemersma said. 鈥淔ind better friends that will stick up for you.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 always options for someone being bullied,鈥� Richardson added. 鈥淭here鈥檚 teachers, parents, other friends, counsellors.鈥�
grace.kennedy@ahobserver.com
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