Bullying is about the abuse of power

Children who bully abuse their power to hurt others, deliberately and repeatedly.

Boys in grades 6 through 9 who bullied others were 4 times more likely to be convicted of at least one crime by age 24.

60% of former bullies had committed at least one crime and 35% had committed 3 or more crimes

Adults who were bullied as children maintain vivid memories of the events throughout their lifetime

In cases of extreme bullying, some tormented victims have resorted to violence toward themselves or others

15% of year olds said they have been cyberbullied online

Only 35% of teens who had been cyberbullied told their parents about their experience

Only 9% of teens who have been cyberbullied told a teacher

Each day 160,000 children in the U.S. stay home from school for fear of being bullied

Cyberbullying victims were almost twice as likely to have attempted suicide than youth who had not been cyberbullied

Gay and lesbian students are common victims of schoolyard bullies

Studies show being bullied is related to poor psychosocial adjustment – increased depression, anxiety

Peers intervene in only % of all bullying incidents

Where peers intervened, 57% of the interventions were effective – bullying stopped within 10 seconds

Teenaged girls (44%) are more likely to experience online bullying than teenaged boys (28%)

More than one- third (36%) of teens have had mean, threatening, or embarrassing things said about them online

Roughly 20% of teens admit to participating in “sexting”

22% of teen girls and 20% of teen boys have sent nude or semi-nude pictures of themselves over the Internet or their phones

Being a victim of bullying frequently increases the likelihood of experiencing suicidal thoughts by 10% in boys and by more than 20% in girls.

When young people have strong connections with adults, they are more resilient.

Bullying gets worse when adults ignored what was going on, told the bullied student to stop tattling, or told the student to solve the problem themselves.

One good friend can make a crucial difference to children who are bullied, teased or harassed.

Teaching norms for respectful exchange is simply part of the job of teaching young people to participate in a civil discussion.

The first step in stopping antigay speech is talking about it.

Administrators and system leaders need to fill in gaps in their knowledge and gain skills in responding to homophobic speech.

Administrators and school system leaders need to regularly remind teachers, staff and colleagues of the importance of speaking up to interrupt harassment.

Faculty cannot change the culture of incivility alone— they need the help of the students.