Skip to main content

Week against bullying

 In Belgium, we have something called "The Week Against Bullying" (De Week Tegen Pesten).  This is mainly addressed in primary schools, where children are informed about the effects of bullying and learn how to recognize and prevent it during the Week Against Bullying. A major event during this week is a large concert organized by Ketnet, a children's TV channel. Everyone dances the "Move Against Bullying" and shows their support in the fight against bullying. To symbolize this, people put four dots on their hands, representing a kind of "antivirus" against bullying, signaling that they stand against it. Schools take several initiatives during this week to combat bullying and can win a prize that they can use to support their anti-bullying policies. 

I remember when I was younger this week was very fun, at that time for me it was not only about bullying but mostely about the big concert at the end of the week. My uncle, who is a school principal, says that during this Anti-Bullying Week, bullying decreases, but after this week, there is a clear increase in bullying. That's why I doubt the effectiveness of this week, because it mainly focuses on the fun activities that take place at school during that week. In my opinion, there should be more effort put into finding ways to spread this awareness, and that cannot be achieved in just one week. 

- Hannah Nys

Comments

  1. AinaMarch 4, 2025 at 11:23 AM

    Hi! I'm not sure if we have something similar in Catalonia. Honestly, this is the first time that I have heard about it, but I think it's a great initiative. However, considering that, as you mentioned, bullying increases after that week, I think it would be interesting to find a way to keep the “fight” against bullying present the entire year. It's important that thus awareness is not limited to just one week but is continuously integrated into daily life of schools (we have to see how). In addition, I think it would be beneficial to continue dedicating a specific week to bullying, but as a reinforcement within a broader and more long-term plan.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hannah nysMarch 10, 2025 at 1:57 AM

      I agree that their should indeed be a way to spread awarness the entire year. It's interessting to think about how you could do that. thinking about spreading quotes around the school, hang papers with the consequenes of bullying, what you can do when you see bullying... I don't know if it would work but it's worth the try :)

      Delete
  2. AnonymousMarch 9, 2025 at 9:50 AM

    Hi, while reading this, I thought it might be a bit off-topic if the main event was a concert. Although it is nice to combine this serious topic with a fun approach to teaching, perhaps the focus should be different? The knowledge transfer itself could also be made more playful. I could imagine that when children hear something about bullying in a frontal lecture, they quickly switch off. I would also find it interesting to find out exactly which factor contributes to bullying occurring more frequently again after this week

    ReplyDelete
  3. SophiaMarch 9, 2025 at 9:52 AM

    The comment above was mine:)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Definition of Bullying

 Hi everyone! The World Anti-Bullying Forum, together with UNESCO, created a Working group for establishing a new definition of school bullying. Its new definition keeps the idea that bullying requires unwanted repetitive aggressiveness and imbalance of power, and adds the idea that this power imbalance is supported by societal and institutional norms. The emphasis is now in the idea that bullying is not an affair among students but a social process. The new definition is this one: School bullying is a damaging social process that is characterized by an imbalance of power driven by social (societal) and institutional norms. It is often repeated and manifests as unwanted interpersonal behaviour among students or school personnel that causes physical, social, and emotional harm to the targeted individuals or groups, and the wider school community. You can find the document where it is explained  here . Fes
Post a Comment
Read more

Salutogenic approach and a personal opinion

  As I briefly mentioned in my previous post, on the website called PDA Bullying , among various resources, there is a section dedicated to explain the Salutogenic approach . After doing some research, it becomes clear that this approach gets its name because its main goal is to promote health and well-being . The platform aims to address bullying from this perspective, adopting a strength-based approach that focuses on individuals' potential and the creation of a cooperative community working toward a shared goal . It slightly reminds me of the No Blame Approach we studied in class, as it also refers to a method based on compassion and a solution-focused outlook , rather than assigning blame. Their aim is not simply to act against bullying, but rather to overcome it , moving beyond a simplistic understanding of bullying as just a dynamic between two individuals. Instead, they view it as a broader social process . For this reason, the protocol designed and implemented by...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Simpsons: Bull-E

  Bull-E - The Simpsons (Season 26, Episode 21) The Simpsons has reflected bullying as a complex issue through their episodes, whether through Bart’s pranks, Nelson’s struggles, or Springfield’s collective response, the show highlights the importance of addressing bullying thoughtfully and empathetically.  Many schools and communities have anti-bullying policies, but the debates arise about how to enforce them without oppressing free expression or over-penalizing minor infractions. The episode of The Simpsons reflects these concerns by showing the challenges of finding a balance. It highlights how good intentions, like preventing bullying (passing an Anti-Bullying law), can sometimes go way too far, leading to unintended consequences. Also, it brings up the difficulty of bullying’s definition, what feels like bullying to one person might seem harmless to another, that is Homer’s storyline, which reminds us that our words and actions, even if unintended, can impact on others d...
Post a Comment
Read more