St Mary Star of the Sea College Bullying and Harassment Policy 2004 Policy statement St Mary’s College does not tolerate bullying/harassment in any form. All members of the College community are committed to ensuring a safe and caring environment, which promotes personal growth and positive self-esteem for all. Bullying/harassment, in any form, is not acceptable behaviour and will not be tolerated because it infringes the personal rights of another or others. If any member of the community experiences harm due to bullying/harassment, she is encouraged to speak to an appropriate person for support. Under no circumstances is it advised to tolerate bullying/harassment, especially out of fear of the matter getting worse. It is unlikely that bullying/harassment will simply “go away”. There is little chance that bullying/harassment can be dealt with if names are not given to the appropriate persons. What is bullying and harassment? Bullying/harassment: is an act of aggression causing embarrassment, pain or discomfort to another can take a number of forms: physical, verbal, written, gesture, extortion and exclusion, is an abuse of power, can be planned and organised or it may be unintentional, involves individuals and/or groups may involve the violation of the space of another can be intimidation, which may include verbal aggression (abusive or unacceptable language), rudeness or confrontational and provocative behaviour. (eg silence, body language, or written abuse). Some examples of bullying and harassment Check outthisusefulw ebsites: include: any form of physical violence such as hitting, pushing or spitting on others, interfering with another’s property by stealing, hiding, damaging or destroying it, using offensive names, teasing or www.bullyingnoway.com.au spreading rumours about others or their families, using put downs, belittle others’ abilities and achievements, writing offensive notes or graffiti about others, making degrading comments about another’s culture, religious or social background, sexual orientation, hurtfully excluding others from a group, making suggestive comments or other forms of sexual abuse, ridiculing another’s appearance, forcing others to act against their will,
writing offensive/put/down/rumour messages by email, SMS and MSN offensive text messages, using the phone communication in a derogatory communication process If we are bullied: we may feel frightened, unsafe, embarrassed, angry or unfairly treated, our work, sleep and ability to concentrate may suffer, our relationships with our family and friends may deteriorate, we may feel confused and not know what to do about the problem. What do we do to prevent bullying and harassment? Don’t be a silent observer. As a school community, we will not allow cases of bullying/harassment to go unreported but will speak up, even at risk to ourselves. This requires students to: refuse to be involved in any bullying/harassment situation take some form of preventative action, if appropriate, report the incident or suspected incident and help to break down the code of secrecy, have the courage to speak out in order to help to reduce pain for themselves and other potential victims. This requires staff to: be role models in word and action at all times, be observant of signs of distress or suspected incidents of bullying/harassment, take steps to help victims and remove sources of distress without placing the victim at further risk, report suspected incidents to the appropriate staff member. The College recommends that parents: watch for signs of distress in their daughter, eg unwillingness to attend school, a pattern of headaches, missing equipment, requests for extra money, damaged clothes or bruising, take an active interest in your daughter’s social life and acquaintances, advise your daughter to tell a staff member about the incident as soon as possible and inform the College if bullying/harassment is suspected, do not encourage your daughter to retaliate, communicate to your daughter that parental involvement, if necessary, will be appropriate for the situation, attend interviews at the College if your daughter is involved in any bullying/harassment incident, inform the College of any cases of suspected bullying/harassment even if your own daughter is not directly affected.