Subject
title
Proclamation Declaring October 2024, as National Bullying Prevention Month in Rockville, Maryland
end
Department
City Clerk/Director of Council Operations Office
Recommendation
Staff recommends Mayor and Council read and approve proclamation.
Discussion
October is National Bullying Prevention Month.
When we think of bullying, we often picture children in a playground, but bullying doesn’t always stop after adolescence. According to YouGov, two thirds of British people said they have been bullied at some point, with 21% expressing they have experienced bullying as an adult.
Bullying has a massive impact on mental health and can affect someone’s personal and professional lives greatly, so it’s important to understand the signs of bullying if you come across it.
As a leader, it’s necessary to be aware of bullying in your workplace to safeguard the mental health of your people for better productivity and engagement.
This year, we want to focus on bullying of adolescents. In August every year, 'Don’t be a Bully Month' is a dedicated month to raise awareness for the dangers and impacts of bullying. Bullying can hold a significant strain and stress on someone’s mental health, such as damage to self-esteem, sleep disturbances, and isolation. The month is a reminder to always be kind and compassionate to others, promote acceptance, and boost inclusivity to prevent bullying. The City of Rockville, Maryland, has combined the two months to raise awareness during October while school is in session.
The City of Rockville has reached out to the principals of the three High Schools that Rockville residents attend to lend our support to their efforts to address and eliminate bullying. This is a time to acknowledge that bullying has devastating effects on children and families such as school avoidance, low grades and low attendance, loss of self-esteem, increased anxiety, and depression.
Bullying can occur in multiple ways. It can be verbal, physical, through social exclusion, or via digital sources like email, texts, or social media. Unlike mutual teasing or fighting, bullying occurs when one person or a group of people is perceived as being more powerful than another and takes advantage of that power through repeated physical assaults, threats of harm, intimidation, or by purposefully excluding a person from a valued social group. Being bullied can severely affect the person’s self-image, social interactions, and school performance and can lead to mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and substance use, and even suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
In 2015, about 21 percent of students ages 12-18 reported being bullied at school during the school year. Of students ages 12-18, about 13 percent reported that they were made fun of, called names, or insulted; 12 percent reported being the subject of rumors; 5 percent reported that they were pushed, shoved, tripped, or spit on; and 5 percent reported being excluded from activities on purpose. Additionally, 4 percent of students reported being threatened with harm, 3 percent reported that others tried to make them do things they did not want to do, and 2 percent reported that their property was destroyed by others on purpose.
On a larger scale, National Bullying Awareness Month, is a timely reminder for organizations to take action at the local level to foster safe and supportive environments. Workplace bullying-whether through hostile comments, discriminatory actions, or other forms of intimidation-should never be tolerated.
By promoting kindness, inclusivity, and respect, we can contribute to creating workplaces where everyone feels valued and respected. Together, we have the power to make bullying a thing of the past and build a better, more compassionate world.
Lets all do our part to be acknowledge bullying, learn the triggers and traits, call it out and work hard to prevent it and eliminate it.
Source:
• https://www.nctsn.org/resources/public-awareness/national-bullying-prevention-month#:~:text=October%20was%20first%20declared%20as,%2C%20increased%20anxiety%2C%20and%20depression <https://www.nctsn.org/resources/public-awareness/national-bullying-prevention-month>.
• <https://www.healthassured.org/blog/dont-be-a-bully-month/>
• https://hr.nih.gov/working-nih/civil/national-bullying-awareness-month#:~:text=October%20is%20National%20Bullying%20Awareness,intimidation%E2%80%94should%20never%20be%20tolerated <https://hr.nih.gov/working-nih/civil/national-bullying-awareness-month>.
Mayor and Council History
This is the second time Mayor and Council have presented this proclamation.