'We need to be guided by children' - Professor calls for change in the way bullying is tackled
Bullying of any type needs to be tackled by children instead of by adults, a leading expert is warning.
For far too long the voices of children have not been recognised and listened to by adults, says Professor James O’Higgins Norman.
Prof. O’Higgins Norman, the UNESCO chair on Tackling Bullying in Schools and Cyberspace and also director of the National Anti-Bullying Centre (ABC) in Dublin City University, also said adults are not paying enough attention to children's evolving needs, what they are being subjected to and experienced by them within the world of both physical and cyber-bullying.
Prof. O’Higgins Norman said we need to include children and young people in addressing bullying and online safety.
Speaking ahead of his inaugural speech today at DCU titled, Tackling Bullying from the Inside out: Shifting paradigms in Bullying Research and Intervention, he added that it is vitally important to put bullying into a psychological, sociological, environmental and technological context.
He said: “We need to change the way we look at bullying.
The old saying of, ‘Children should be seen and not heard’ should be turned on its head.
"We need to look from the inside out and not the outside in. By this I mean we need to be guided by children and adolescents instead of adults guiding them.
“I’m not saying the extensive work and research carried out by academic and child-orientated safety concern institutions has been futile, it’s quite the opposite but the voices of the young are vital to learning for the future on this serious issue.
He went on to say that rather than focusing on what adults have to say on the subject, we need to pay attention to what children are saying.
Prof. O’Higgins Norman said: "Yes, adults are needed for implementing what children say needs to happen when dealing with bullying and cyber-bullying, but for far too long their has been no recognition of the voice of the child.
“All knowledge comes from experience and perception and children are the drivers of how to cope with the ever-changing types of bullying (especially) cyber-bullying.
The research process needs to be flipped and have children and adolescents involved. They have words of wisdom we need to listen to. They are the ones who should be directing research which is being carried out by adults.
“We need to sit down with children and ask them how they view bullying. We need to train and empower them and vitally, listen to them, as they need to be the partners in change. Children need to direct and teachers and institutions have to facilitate.
“We need to look at what is the best way forward in conducting research and dealing with future issues."
He highlighted ongoing research from several countries that said the cost of dealing with bullying in financial terms will be €2bn over the next 30 years.
He said: "Bullying impacts on mental health and life opportunities while simultaneously causing low self-esteem, depression, social isolation and even suicidal idealisation."
Prof. O’Higgins Norman pointed out that, for too long there has been a one-size-fits-all approach in attempting to deal with and researching bullying, often ignoring sexual orientation due to gender assumptions and socio-cultural factors.
He said: “Research results mean that developmental implications, measuring and observing needs of children should go hand-in-hand with what adults believe should happen, to protect against and stamp out bullying as much as is possible.
"They need to learn to listen to and be guided by children and what they are saying.”
Professor O’Higgins Norman said his new role as UNESCO chair will involve sharing best practice from and across the world.
He said: "What we will be hoping to do is to, consolidate all of that international work and get a really strong picture of what is working, and what isn't working in relation to tackling bullying in schools and online.
“Then as a result, make our findings available through an interim report, and then also develop new approaches and highlight new strategies that are being used in different places around the world in tackling bullying now and into the future.”
Organisations such as the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) and Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) raised concerns over the sharing of explicit images by children and sexual harassment of people of all ages online.
Communications Minister Richard Bruton has signalled that there will be a digital safety commissioner who enforces a code of conduct on internet companies, “with severe penalties”.
