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EDUCATION MINISTER Ruairi Quinn has announced details of a forum to explore how bullying in schools can be stopped – with a special initiative to tackle homophobic bullying.
The Anti-Bullying Forum will be held in mid-May and is set to include representatives from schools, support groups and parents and student groups.
It will consider whether changes should be made to policies currently in place in schools, and identify short-term recommendations and steps that can be taken to help tackle the problem.
Alongside the forum, a new working group is being established on how to deal with specific types of bullying including racial abuse, cyberbullying and homophobia, which will be the first matter addresses.
It is intended that the findings of the larger forum can be used to inform the working group’s deliberations and help it to come up with more appropriate ways of tackling the various types of abuse.
“Bullying in school can ruin a young person’s enjoyment of some of the most important years of their life,” Quinn said. “In extreme situations it can also, tragically, lead to a young person taking their own life.”
LGBT groups GLEN and BeLonG To welcomed the news of the working group, complimenting the government on following the Programme for Government commitment to tackle homophobic bullying in schools.
“The goal of eliminating homophobic bullying is a very realisable goal,” Michael Barron of BeLonG To, a support group for young people, said.
“The Minister’s Working Group provides a critically important opportunity to create safe, supportive and affirming schools for young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.”
Sandra Irwin-Gowran, director of education policy at GLEN (the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network), said that if left unchecked, homophobic bullying ”has an impact on all students who learn the high price of being different”.
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how can homophobic bullying be tackled if lgbt teachers cant even be out in the staffroom without certainty that their jobs arent at risk if they work in a relgious schhol (ie 90% of schools)
And this gov should know a thing or two about Bullying with the way the Bullied people into the household charge
OFFS!
While I agree bullying needs to be addressed, I don’t hold out any hopes for this. What are they going to come out with that hasn’t been looked at or tried in the past 20 odd years? And stop cyber bullying…good luck with that one. Policing the Internet is as hilarious as it is oppressive.
To anyone else who feels the need to complain about the government, scroll down to the article on berty where it’s actually relevant.
Gave you a thumbs up but I didn’t agree with your comments on Cyber bullying. As far as I am concerned it’s easily solved by monitoring discretely computer activities of children by parents. There are loads of computer software applications out there that do this. Forget about privacy issues etc, the benefits outweigh the negatives.
I think you made a very dangerous point there. If an authoritarian form of government where people have almost no rights is a more effective means of government than a democracy, then should we follow that because the efficiency benefits outweigh the negatives of no personal freedom? If we can start making intrusions into people’s personal freedoms because the benefits have a perceived value higher than the intrusion then where exactly do we draw the line? Can we say that the Chinese government restricting Internet access is ok because it protects people from negative influences and cyber bullying? After all the benefits outweigh the negatives to some.
I don’t expect you to answer, they’re mostly rhetorical questions. What I do expect before I agree to any Internet policing and control is where exactly the line is. What classes as bullying online and who decides this needs to be agreed. Otherwise we could see people making sarcastic comments about government policy being arrested for “cyber harassment” for all we know.
Well I wasn’t actually talking about Governments policing the internet I was talking about parents monitoring what their ‘minor’ children are doing on the net and the computer itself for that matter. There are many parents out there at the minute who have lost their kids to predators and bullying and I am sure if they could go back in time they would like to know what was going on so they could step in, that is what parents do. You look like a young lad and I don’t expect you to appreciate how protective parents are of their kids.
I’m an only child living abroad so I have a little experience in how protective parents can be. Legally speaking there are no restrictions on parents monitoring their children’s online activities. There is nothing standing in the way of a parent doing what you suggested. There is also no right to privacy for a minor living under a parent or legal guardian from said parent or guardian.
My point earlier refers to the attitude of anything goes as long as there is a benefit that you displayed in your earlier comment. When we start infringing on existing legal rights for the sake of this crusade against bullying, then we’re essentially committing a crime to stop a crime which is just a vicious circle.
Besides who has jurisdiction on a cyber bullying case? Nobody has been able to answer that question for me so maybe someone here can?
how can they tackle homophobic bulling, if gay relationships are still not treated as equal to marriage?
They expect school kids to understand something they can’t understand themselves…
How much bullying is actually related to ‘homophobic’ attitudes rather than downright nastiness to not sporty, shy or bright kids. Given the amount of aggression and drunkenness on the streets any weekend night, I’d say bullying is the tip of the iceberg in parenting problems.
Dear Minister Quinn and Co. Practice what you preach!
We have the bullyboys in the dail sitting in the front bench , hogan shatter and co. telling the poor of the country they have to pay for the sins of others.
I was bullied at school for being gay, even before I knew I was! I did everything possible to fit in, short of bullying other to gain respect. schools still are like prisons I think, maybe I’m wrong all I know is bullies are always going to be around, it would have been nice to know that I didn’t need to stand for it, and I had backup and support, I’ve seen lads and girls who have been bullied, grow up and be very anti-social, I realise we each have your own experience
Raoire Quinn will be the biggest BULLY at the event.
@Frank2521 – If you want to email me at gavan@thejournal.ie I can explain why your comments are being removed.
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