In the wake of several high-profile teen suicides, the Ontario government is drafting anti-bullying legislation that would require schools to crack down on the behaviour.
But it seems that many Canadians don’t believe that suspension or expulsion is enough.
A recent online survey by Angus Reid Public Opinion found that 65 per cent of the 1,006 respondents want bullying criminalized. Nine in 10 Canadians want cyber bullying laws enacted in their province.
But is this the right approach?
Bullying certainly is harmful behaviour and who hasn’t felt its sting during their childhood? But, for the extreme cases when principals, teachers and parents are inadequate to handle the behaviour, there already are laws in place that can be applied to bullies, such as assault.
To try and criminalize such an umbrella of behaviour is dangerous and, frankly, unnecessary.
First, how do we define bullying? The spectrum of severity can run from not getting an invitation to a birthday party to physical abuse and daily torment. Each situation and child is different. Decisions about the gravity of the behavior and the appropriate punishment should be made on a case-by-case basis. If the treatment warrants legal action, there are already the appropriate laws in place.
Ontario’s legislation should prompt teachers and school officials to be more attentive and watchful for bullying and by labeling such an ill-defined and complex behaviour as illegal, it may make it easier for school officials to remove themselves from the situation, leaving it up to “legal officials.” Criminalizing bullying would shift the onus from institutions, such as schools and the family, to an impersonal body.
Internet and cell phones do complicate methods of bullying, and in many cases, make it easier; there is now a sphere beyond the classroom, playground and neighbourhood park where watchful eyes can’t always go. However, it can perhaps encourage parents to be more vigilant in monitoring their children’s use of these technologies. There should certainly be protocols in schools for reprimanding students that harass or abuse others on the Internet. An Internet policy between parents, school officials and students could be organized and implemented, but to make all negative behaviour on the Internet illegal is crossing the line.
There are also important lessons to be learned from bullying. Kids are cruel, but so is life. Children need to learn how to stand up to others, how to deal with criticism – warranted or not – and how to seek help when injustices occur. Bullying continues past high school: into relationships, marriages, university lecture halls and the workplace.
Humans are not born socially adept or empathetic; it is a learned behaviour. Unfortunately, discovering conflict resolution, compassion and self-confidence can be a painful learning curve. There are undoubtedly times when the “sticks-and-stones” lesson is taken to an unhealthy level. But there are already legal measures in place for those situations. Otherwise, let parents, teachers and the kids themselves work together to offer support to work through the difficult years of “growing-up.”