Beyond the hurt

A unique Canadian red Cross program is empowering millions of Canadian youth to prevent and take a stand against bullying

By Mary Lee Crocker

Several students from Carson Graham Secondary School in North Vancouver participated in Beyond the Hurt.

British Columbia celebrated Pink Shirt Day on Feb. 25, a day on which people don pink shirts to show they are against bullying. However, the Canadian Red Cross created a program that shares the same message year-round.

According to the Canadian Red Cross website (www.redcross.ca), the Beyond the Hurt (BTH) program “supports a school or organization-wide approach to preventing bullying and building empathy and respect,” consisting of a three-hour bullying prevention workshop for youth.

At an event in Victoria, B.C., Travis Price, co-founder of Pink Shirt Day, said, “The Canadian Red Cross has, bar none, the best bullying prevention program in the country.” This is a big endorsement from an individual who has become an international anti-bullying icon.

At another event on that same day, a law enforcement officer attending a rally at Reynolds Secondary School in Saanich, B.C. shared that the Red Cross’s BTH bullying prevention program was influential due to its unique peer-topeer training model.

In 2013, UNICEF reported that 35 per cent of Canadian children aged 11, 13, and 15 years old have been bullied at school in the past couple of months. This hurtful behaviour has significant impact on those who are targeted, those who witness, and those who carry out the bullying.

Bullying is not a rite of passage or a standard childhood experience. The outcomes of bullying are serious, real and far-reaching. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth in B.C. The experience of being targeted by bullying behaviour increases a youth’s risk for mental health challenges and suicide. However, research also shows

that 57 per cent of the time, bullying can stop in 10 seconds if a bystander intervenes.

BTH is a unique program because it educates youth to become youth facilitators who then pass the information to other youth. The Canadian Red Cross has seen that youth will respond better to making change when they are influenced and led by their older peers. This data is supported by program survey results from 2013–14 in which 55,000 youth who were taught by 2,400 BTH youth facilitators announced their desire to change the behaviour of bullies. Ninety-four per cent stated they would not be silent bystanders when bullying occurred, 95 per cent indicated they would not hurt others, 92 per cent recognized the importance of being active and engaged citizens and 83 per cent intended to become involved in making their communities safer.

BTH youth facilitators empower youth through participatory, creative learning methods. Ten key lessons are emphasized: 1. Respect others in both real and digital worlds. Be kind and build healthy relationships in both atmospheres. 2. Know that all types of bullying behaviours are wrong – physical, relational, sexual, emotional, verbal – whether they occur in person or online. 3. Stand up against bullying; refuse to go along with hurtful actions. 4. Send strong anti-bullying messages online. 5. Protect personal information. 6. If someone sends bullying messages, save these exchanges. If someone hurts you or you witness someone else being hurt, write it down. 7. Tell someone you trust and get help you deserve. Silence feeds the problem, but telling a trusted adult helps to find solutions. 9.

10. Call the Kids Help Phone (1-800668-6868), or reach out to other counselling services to get support. Know what and where the risks are in both your real and digital worlds; discuss them with your friends and together develop safety plans. Take action. Examples include forming a bullying prevention comfor young people to speak out against bullying and how to prevent it and developing campaigns

in schools similar to Pink Shirt Day.

BTH empowers youth to empower youth. This process results in adolescents understanding the problem and developing solutions. It also challenges adults to become involved and discover how they can create and mainmittee with teachers, parents and tain environments that keep Canada’s students, creating an online forum young people safe. bRCABC_OT_4.625x7_Dairy_PRINT.pdf 1 2014-10-01 10:15 PM