Xavier Williams was a 14 year old who lived in South London. He loved life and made his family smile all the time. But this soon changed as he had to move to a new school. He left all his old friends behind and was not welcomed warmly. He used to be called chubby and fat by the other student’s on a daily basis, this led Xavier to stop eating and he ended up in hospital.  Xavier’s family was worried to death about him. He was my cousin and his story has inspired me to speak out against bullying.

Imagine someone constantly trying to make your life a living hell. I doubt anyone of us would find this acceptable if this was happening to us or to someone whom we loved. Bullying happens daily but not enough people recognise it to stop it. Most people don’t even care as it is not affecting their lives.  How many of you have called someone a name? How many of you have treated someone poorly? How many of you have judged someone on who they are or what they have done? Bullying is so common in modern societies that people don’t even recognise it anymore. People believe it is a normal everyday activity. Calling someone stupid, is bullying. Hitting someone, is bullying.  Intentionally causing pain, is bullying. This is wrong!

 

So what is bullying? According to leading bullying expert Dr.Haber, Bullying is when you intend to harm someone repeatedly to make yourself more powerful. There are four different types of bullying. Relational, verbal, physical and cyber bullying. All four of these are different but at the end of the day they all have the same effect. Hurting another individual!

 

Bullying causes so much damage that people who have been bullied tend to end up committing suicide. Four hundred and ninety six. That’s the number of people who have felt so insecure about themselves that they have taken their own life, this year. Four hundred and ninety six. That’s the number of people who are no longer with us, this year, because of someone else’s actions. Four hundred and ninety six. That’s the number of bullies, this year, who can now be considered as murderers…

 

Bullying is witnessed by people every day. But either they are too scared to stop it or they don’t even realise it is happening.  Victims of bullying would go to adults for help but the common response is, “Kids will be kids” or “They are just playing”. The bully would then think it’s acceptable to bully and they won’t stop. This is the reason why adults need to come down hard and stomp out bullying!

 

One of the reasons why bullying needs to be stopped now is because of the negative impact it is having on people’s life. In Lancashire, April 1967, the first recognised death due to bullying was Steven Shepherd. In April 1998, Brian Franklish also died from bullying. In Yorkshire, twelve year old Debbie Shaw stood up to the school bully to try and end her suffering and died of her injuries. Thirteen year old, Roger Hillyard was found dead near his home after a lifetime of bullying and teasing. Sisters Samantha and Michaela Kendal were mocked so much about being overweight, that they went on a hunger strike, sadly both died from malnourishment. Fifteen year old Darren Steele was found hanged in his bedroom after a life of being a victim at school. In West Midlands, twelve year old, schoolboy, Stephen Woodhall hanged himself with his brother’s school tie. “He must have been going through hell,” his father, Ken, said. Later, forty-seven-year-old Kenneth Woodhall also hanged himself. In September 1997, 13-year-old Salvation Army girl Kelly Yeomans took a fatal overdose after months of tormenting. Her bullies were given a slap on the wrist. This is wrong and you know it!

 

With technology becoming more advanced, bullying has become easier and easier. This is because more and more people are signing up and using social networking sites. For example the most common are ‘Facebook’, ‘Twitter’ and ‘Ask.fm’. Cyber bullying is probably the most common out of the four types of bullying, the reason for this is because bullies feel safe to bully because they have a screen to hide behind and because on many of these sites they have the choice to be anonymous.

 

Different people bully for different reasons. Jealousy, popularity and personally issues are the main reasons.  Bullies will even bully to follow the others. This is because in society today nobody wants to feel left out or isolated. Also people pick on others because they are different and weak. Nine hundred thousand people suffer, or have suffered from bullying in Canada. This means that one in every five people have experienced what it’s like to be in fear of someone because they are basically manipulating and controlling your life. Calling someone fat doesn’t make you any skinnier. Calling someone stupid does make you any smarter. Calling someone ugly doesn’t make you any better looking. This is why we should put a stop to bullying for once and for all. Let’s bully bullying!