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According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, 20 percent of students report being bullied. Out of those students, 33 percent report bullying to be an occurrence at least a few times each month. To help spread awareness and to put a stop to bullying, October has been named Bullying Prevention Month.

History

Founded in 2006 by PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center, Bullying Prevention Month was developed to educate and raise awareness about bullying through community and school activities. In 2010, the campaign has expanded from just one week in October to the whole month. The goal of the campaign is to “create a world without bullying”. This month is to help open up the conversation to prevent bullying and create safer environments for our youth.

Bullying

It was believed that bullying was just a part of growing up and making kids stronger. But the fact is, bullying causes lasting and serious effects like anxiety, behavior issues, mental health issues, depression, low self-esteem and avoidance of school. Bullying can be physical or mental such as making threats or spreading malicious rumors. This aggressive behavior can affect a child’s entire life and the pain can even be carried into adulthood.

Show Your Support

To help keep our youth safe and to teach kids to be kind to others, Bullying Prevention Month offers resources so that everyone can do their part to prevent bullying. The campaign creates a platform for schools to create a dialogue between students, teachers and parents so that students feel comfortable speaking up about bullying. Visit www.pacer.org/bullying/ to show your support by adding your name to the anti-bullying pledge. You can also do your part by spreading the word to end bullying and to encourage lawmakers to make changes in order to protect students from bullying.

If your child has been a victim of school bullying, we encourage you to call an experienced Philadelphia school bullying attorney as soon as possible. Our skilled attorney can offer you guidance and support.