BULLYING / CYBERBULLYING AND PEER MEDIATION CASE STUDIES
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Group 1 Case study n. 1 Tom is 16 years old and he attends high school. He has vision problems. Tom is constantly victimized by two bullies who make fun of him every single day because of his disability and because he likes studying and is the teachers’ favorite. One day, while he is walking in the corridors with books in his hands he stumbles and falls to the ground. The boy loses his eyeglasses. Two bullies move toward him. One of the bullies picks up the eyeglasses from the ground and puts them on. ?’“With these eyeglasses it’s impossible to see anything, we’d better throw them
away” [he throws the boy’s glasses into the bin] “Everything you wear sucks like you.” The second bully takes one of the boy’s books and she begins to tear off the pages. “You always study. Have you ever wondered what the use of being at the centre of the teacher's attention is if you have no friends? You’re ugly and pedantic, no one will ever want to be yours!” Tom: “Please stop! Don’t say these ugly words to me and don’t destroy my books! Please!” Bullies (evil laughing): “Ha ha ha, you’re pathetic!” Two girls arrive and stand in front of Tom yelling to the bullies …. 1. Case analysis What kind of bullying is it (physical, verbal, relational, cyber, sexual, and prejudicial)? Justify your answer This scenario shows different types of bullying. Verbal bullying when the bullies say to Tom ‘Everything you wear sucks like you’. It’s also physical and social/relational bullying because a group of 2 students bully Tom. One says to Tom ‘You’re ugly and pedantic, no one will ever want to be yours!’. They clearly rejected him because of his physical aspect. As a final example, we can see here: ‘Tom is constantly victimized [...] because of his disability’. It is for this reason that we can affirm that this is also a case of prejudicial bullying. Where does it take place? It takes place at school in the corridors.
Who are the people involved? The people involved in this story are Tom (the victim), the two bullies, and the two girls. 2. What could be done in this case? What kind of actions could be envisaged? Could mediation help? If so, what kind of mediation: peer mediation, adult-led mediation, pupil/adult mediation. In what measure could peer mediation be useful? Mediation can certainly help in this situation, perhaps mediation with an adult would be more effective as a boy may not be able to handle the situation alone with, not one, but two bullies. What type of policies and interventions designed to prevent bullying and its negative effects should be adopted? In order to prevent these situations it would be necessary to implement lessons with the students to sensitize them on the subject and make them understand their wrong behavior. It’s very important to speak about this topic at school or among the families of the people involved… informing and educating them on the subject would decrease the acts of bullying and cyberbullying.
3. Continue the story by adding the action of peer mediators The two girls could take action by getting the principal or a teacher involved in the situation, this way appropriate measures can be taken to mediate the situation and resolve things. Sitting down with all the members involved would be a good first step to defuse the problem.
Group 2 Case study n. 2
A 15-year-old girl, Sophia, was contacted by a stranger and after much flattery, he convinced her to show him her breasts during an online meeting. One year later, the same stranger contacted her again on Instagram and he threatened to make her topless photo public if she refused to make a live sex show for him in front of the camera. She refused, so the stranger sent her topless photo to everyone. This event sent Sophia into depression and she found help in alcohol and drugs. Her family transferred her to another school but the stranger has continued to haunt her. He has opened a fake Instagram account for her, using her topless photo like her profile picture. For this reason now her new classmates avoid and ignore her and she is regarded as a bad girl ………
1. Case analysis What kind of bullying is it (physical, verbal, relational, cyber, sexual, and prejudicial)? Justify your answer. -It’s a cyber and sexual bullying also called “Revenge porn” because the stranger threatened the girl with her topless photo and he convinced her to show him her breasts during an online meeting. Where does it take place? -It can happen mostly on the internet in places like social media but we should remember that it can also occur in real life. Who are the people involved?
-15-year-old girl, Sophia and the stranger 2. What could be done in this case?
What kind of actions could be envisaged? -In this case the best measures to take could be talk to the parents and notify the cyber police
Could mediation help? If so, what kind of mediation: peer mediation, adult-led mediation, pupil/adult mediation. In what measure could peer mediation be useful? -The useful mediation could be adult-led mediation, because this type of bullying can be solved in a better way by involving someone who know how to handle legal actions What type of policies and interventions designed to prevent bullying and its negative effects should be adopted? -I think it is necessary to report and ban Sophias fake instagram account. 3. Continue the story by adding the action of peer mediators everyone except one of her classmates, Lilly, who decides to go beyond the opinion of her classmates and talk to Sophia: she has noticed that she’s always under the effects of alcohol and drugs even when she’s at school, and wants to help her. Lilly takes her friend aside and asks her to tell her what happened, reassuring her that she will not judge her like her classmates did. At first Sophia is afraid of her opinion, but then she opens up to her and says that she would talk with her parents about that but she feels embarrassed. Lilly suggests talking to her parents in order to contact and notify the cyber police so in that way they can finally ban and report the Sophias fake instagram account and delete that photo from the Internet; she also proposes to be with her while she talks about that with her parents to support her, and Sophia accepts. Shortly after that talk, they call Sophia’s parents on the phone and after having explained the situation her parents decide to pick Sophia up from school and go to the cyber police station immediately and after a few hours the account with her photo is gone. The day after, Lilly has spoken with their classmates and tried to raise awareness about the situation in order to make them understand that she’s not a bad girl and that this can happen to everyone: after few months Sophia reintegrated into her classmates and she’s attending a sort of therapy to detox from drugs and recover from depression, while the Stranger is paying a fine for the thing he did.
Group 3 Case study n. 3 I’ve always been bullied since I began middle school. I am a shy, quiet girl and I have some physical and speech problems. For this reason, 2 people started making fun of me. I really don’t know exactly when it began, but it has gone on from middle school until now that I’m attending secondary school. There is not just one single event I could mention but several ones. Anyway I remember one with my current classmates in particular. During a lesson the teacher left the classroom and two of my classmates started to throw paper balls into my hair. After a while, everyone began to throw paper balls at me and everyone laughed. I felt small and helpless, and I couldn't do anything. In other situations it often happens that I am totally ignored and this doesn’t help me feel better. All these events have changed my life. I have always had low self-esteem and it makes me sick to be judged by people who don’t know me at all. For everyone it seems to be a joke.No one has ever noticed my pain! 1. Case analysis What kind of bullying is it (physical, verbal, relational, cyber, sexual, and prejudicial)? Justify your answer physical since they threw paper balls at her and relational type of bullying because she has some physical and speech problems and they want to make fun of her. Where does it take place? it take place in middle school in the classroom Who are the people involved?The victim and the bullies (her classmates). 2. What could be done in this case? What kind of actions could be envisaged? Definitely talk to an adult about it. trying to find help talking about it with teachers or her parents Could mediation help? If so, what kind of mediation: peer mediation, adult-led mediation, pupil/adult mediation. In what measure could peer mediation be useful? An adult-led mediation would be the best kind of mediation,because thanks to an adult the bullies realize more easily the mistake committed.
What type of policies and interventions designed to prevent bullying and its negative effects should be adopted? A suspension could be an idea to reflect on what has been done. Organize workshops for students about bullying and taking care about bad emotions. letting their parents know about what their child did to another kid would also be a good idea Conducting surveys about student’s mental health and well-being
3. Continue the story by adding the action of peer mediators I had enough. I decided to tell my parents about the bullying. I didn’t want to live in fear. it’s time for them to get the punishment they deserve. My parents took me to talk with the teacher. She proposed meeting with a psychologist. We had reached the conclusion that peer-mediation is necessary. So that’s what we did. The peer mediators helped us to talk this out. My classmates, after a long conversation, realized that what they did was unacceptable. They apologized to me and promised that they would never do something like that again. I hope so. Who knows, maybe we can be friends in the future?
Group 4 Case study n. 4 All began when I was 15 and I moved into a new district with my family. I had to change school and there I was a new entry. All the students were already divided into groups and it wasn’t easy to be included. I also suffered from obesity. Luckily, I made some female friends but after a few weeks some males joined us. Things changed. I was hurt with bad words like “You are obese” or “ You are ugly” or “Go away”! The same group said that I had lices. So, I found myself alone. They continued to make fun of me; they wrote on the wall of the school and on the wall of my house “Marta big pig”. One day, one girl hit me because I had reacted to her provocation. My real problem was I had never had the courage to talk to anyone about it. I had always said that everything was fine. Then lately insults have started to appear on social media …
1. Case analysis What kind of bullying is it (physical, verbal, relational, cyber, sexual, and prejudicial)? Justify your answer It’s bullying verbally, but then continued emotionally bullying began verbally but continued physically, we can understand it because it
starts with the insult "big pig" and continues with a hit. Where does it take place? Everything started at school but also at Marta’s house, when the students wrote on the wall. Who are the people involved? Marta and her classmates.
2. What could be done in this case? It is important that she talks to friends or family so that she can feel understood, it is also essential to know what are the real motivations of the bully and what are the traumas that push him to implement aggressively What kind of actions could be envisaged? The best choice is to suggest to Marta a psychological path in order to regain well-being with herself. Having done this, it is advisable to frequent new places and meet people who appreciate it for what it is, giving it a way to understand how it is worth Could mediation help? If so, what kind of mediation: peer mediation, adult-led mediation, pupil/adult mediation. In what measure could peer mediation be useful? What type of policies and interventions designed to prevent bullying and its negative effects should be adopted? Teachers should talk to students about bullying and educate them. It’s important to read testimonials, watch movies and listen to students’ considerations to prevent any bullying.
3. Continue the story by adding the action of peer mediators When it came to cyberbullying, Marta's friend decided to defend her. In front of the class, he said that what his peers were doing was terrible and they shouldn't be doing it. His opinion was supported by the teacher. After a moment's thought, the tormentors realized their mistake. Often bullies act in the shadows, they haven’t got the courage to hurt in public but only in little groups, asking to repeat verbal bullying can vanish their arrogance. Could peer mediators ask them to repeat their words in public?
Group 5 Case study n. 5 Everything started last year. There was no precise beginning. At first there were just little jokes like hiding objects, then some of my classmates started making fun of me because of my physical appearance or my behaviour. Last week my classmates hid my school bag and I remained in my classroom looking for it. In the meanwhile they reached the exit, waiting for me. When I went out, they threw water, flour and eggs at me. I burst out..I was very angry. I threw my school bag and I ran after the boy guilty of all those jokes.I hit him and he went back home with a black eye and some bruises. But despite that everyday I am laughed at and when I go back home, I want to cry but I don’t want to tell my parents about it. I pretend to be happy because I have two little brothers and I must be strong and always look happy. But this is not the solution….. 1. Case analysis What kind of bullying is it (physical, verbal, relational, cyber, sexual, and prejudicial)? Justify your answer ● It’s verbal, physical, and relational bullying. Where does it take place? ● It takes place in school. Who are the people involved? ● The boy who made the jokes and some classmates. What could be done in this case? ● Peer mediation. 2. What kind of actions could be envisaged? Could mediation help? If so, what kind of mediation: peer mediation, adult-led mediation, pupil/adult mediation. In what measure could peer mediation be useful? ● This case can be done with peer mediation and also with adult-led mediation.
What type of policies and interventions designed to prevent bullying and its negative effects should be adopted? 3. Continue the story by adding the action of peer mediators The victim goes to the teacher and asks for help about what happened in the classroom. V: What am I supposed to do in this situation? T: Why don’t you try peer-mediation or ask the bully why he was mean to you? V: Okay, maybe it’s better to visit the school mediator. The teacher brings the two students to the mediation room to solve their conflict. M to B: Why do you behave so badly towards your colleague? B: I treated him like that because it's annoying that he always gets better grades than me. V: I like studying and there’s nothing wrong with doing it. M to B: Why does it make you upset? B: I’m envious of his intelligence and since I’m not as smart, I get worse grades. V: If you studied more maybe this wouldn't happen. Because you made fun of me I felt very insecure and alone, instead you could have asked for help and I would have helped you. M to B: How do you feel listening to how she felt? B: I feel bad. I'm sorry, I didn't know I was hurting you like that. M to V: Since you both expressed your feelings, how do you feel now? V: I apologize for hurting you, I won't do it again. B: I also apologize. I'll tell the class to stop making jokes. I'm also going to start studying to improve my grades. M: I believe the mediation went very well. Both of you managed to come up with solutions to easily solve the conflict. The victim realizes that he needs help and commits to study with him and meanwhile the class stopped making fun of him. The boy started to improve his grades.
Group 6 Case study n. 6 It was the beginning of the second year of Secondary School. During the first year we had all been friends and teachers were proud of our class. At the end of September a new boy, Andrew, arrived. He had failed and he had to repeat that school year. Andrew wasn’t exactly good-looking: he wore glasses, and he had braces, long unkempt hair and a lot of pimples on his face. He sat alone near the teacher’s desk and during the break he always locked himself in the toilet. For some time now my classmates have started to make fun of him and they have made up some funny stories about him. They say that he hides in the toilet. During P.E. lessons when we form the soccer teams if we are odd, Andrew is excluded. There were other episodes of bullying and one in particular was really bad. Some mates forced the door of the toilet and they took some photos while Andrew had his trousers down and then they posted these photos on our WhatsApp group……. I sometimes laughed as well.It didn’t seem to be too serious. But after this last episode I’ve realized how much we are hurting him and I’ve changed my mind….How could I help him? 1. Case analysis What kind of bullying is it (physical, verbal, relational, cyber, sexual, and prejudicial)? Justify your answer Cyber: They posted photos on their whatsapp groups. Verbal: They are making fun of him and they have made up some funny stories Physical: They forced the door of the toilet to be closed. Relational: there is a misunderstanding and a lack of dialogue between the victim and the other classmates. Where does it take place? In the school class, PE lessons and in the toilet. Who are the people involved? Andrew and some classmates, including the narrator who has a bystander role. 2. What could be done in this case? What kind of actions could be envisaged? A first dialogue where the victim Andrew talks about his problems and his shyness, maybe with a peer mediator. Then the
mediator could support a conversation between the two parts involved in the argument. Could mediation help? If so, what kind of mediation: peer mediation, adult-led mediation, pupil/adult mediation. In what measure could peer mediation be useful? Pupil/adult mediation will be good in this case. It could be useful to help the victim, by explaining to students that bullying is bad. If an adult will talk to them, the chance to solve this conflict would be higher. Peer mediation also can be useful to make a conversation between both sides. Peer mediator could help students to understand Andrew’s problems and later to talk about this situation together. What type of policies and interventions designed to prevent bullying and its negative effects should be adopted? Maybe an integrative group activity at the start of the scholastic year could be useful to reinforce the pre-existent bond between the classmates and to create a new one with the new members of the group.
3. Continue the story by adding the action of peer mediators I decided to talk to Andrew and give him my excuses for laughing at him. He said shyly to me that he was worried at the start of the year because he considered his failure an insuccess and a shame for him. His parents in fact didn't really want him to return to school afraid of another failure. Therefore, during the summer he had a lot of physical problems which caused an insecurity about his appearance. Then I decided to ask for help from our teacher and I told everything about Andrew’s situation. The teacher suggested to help him by a peer-to-peer mediation to solve the conflict. With our teacher's help, I promoted the first conversation between my classmates and Andrew. At the beginning, Andrew didn't want to talk about his issues with everybody. Then, encouraged by his ex-bullies, who understood the reason why he behaved in this way, he started sharing with us his insecurities. After this all the class recognized their fault and deleted Andrew’s private photos from Whatsapp apologizing to him.
Group 7 Case study n. 7 My best friend and I were so close, we could almost be sisters. We had planned to go on holiday to Scotland in October to take a break from all our crazy work from school, because we had both just begun studying for a GCSE. But recently she has started getting friendly with another girl I don’t like as I think she is a bad influence. Last week I started getting nasty texts and emails, and messages on MSN about my appearance and personality. I broke down in tears one night when something about Scotland came on the television. Now I’ve started getting emotionally depressed at home and at school, my work is getting affected and my family is deeply alarmed about this. Yesterday I told my “friend” that I wasn't sure if I wanted to go to Scotland with her, since then the messages have become even worse. Moreover her new friend saw me in the street a few days ago. She pretended not to see me, she bumped into me on purpose and I fell. I’m desperate, what could I do? 1. Case analysis What kind of bullying is it (physical, verbal, relational, cyber, sexual, and prejudicial)? Justify your answer Relational, verbal, physical and cyber. It is based on an intimate relationship, and the gravity of the situation is due to the closeness of the person who is bullying. Where does it take place? On social media and in the street. Who are the people involved? The victim, the two friends, one of which used to be the victim’s best friend 2. What could be done in this case? What kind of actions could be envisaged? Helping the bullying victim by giving them advice and accompanying her in this whole process, giving her all the help he/she needs. Intervening in the situation by
discouraging the bullies to stop doing what they are doing and understand why this happened. Could mediation help? If so, what kind of mediation: peer mediation, adult-led mediation, pupil/adult mediation. In what measure could peer mediation be useful? Peer-to-peer mediation could be helpful to solve their problems and to better understand the situation. Adult-led mediation could also help given the fact that the people involved are minors, so an adult with reason and experience would be helpful to calm and analyze the situation. What type of policies and interventions designed to prevent bullying and its negative effects should be adopted? First, the protagonist, as a victim, should find somebody who she can share what’s happening with and what she’s experiencing. After recovering from depression she can face the mediation efficiently, led by this person who first listens to her story.
3. Continue the story by adding the action of peer mediators The mediator asks details about the situation to analyze it and better understand it. It’s put through a thought process, and the mediator decides to summon a mediation meeting so this can all be resolved. The friend, the victim and the new friend are all put in the mediator, where after very much talking, the victim comes to bad to be jealous about the new friend, and the new friend mean. The friend also apologises for not being there for her through hard times.
same room with the a conclusion that it’s apologizes for being while she was going
4TH GENERAL LYKEION OF ALIMOS – MAKRYGIANNEIO ALIMOS, ATHENS GREECE
VI LICEUM OGOLNOKSZTALCACE IM. KROLA ZYGMUNTA AUGUSTA W BIALYMSTOKU BIALYSTOK POLAND
NEWARK SCHOOL SLIEMA MALTA
AGRUPAMENTO DE ESCOLAS DR.JOÃO ARAÚJO CORREIA PESO DA RÉGUA PORTUGAL
I.I.S. P. SRAFFA – CREMA CONVITTO NAZIONALE DOMENICO CIRILLO - SCUOLE ANNESSE – BARI ITALY