‘You don’t have to like me…but you do have to respect me!’

Lorraine Glass, Director at respectme, reflects on the vital work they do to reduce bullying and improve wellbeing.

In Scotland, and globally, 1 in 3 children and young people report being bullied. Read that again*.

Now, imagine if 1/3rd of children woke up tomorrow morning to find that their nose had turned purple and had sprouted a flower overnight.

Stay with me on this, as although presented as a ridiculously graphic hypothetical phenomenon, the reality is that such a situation would most likely attract priority public health attention as a matter of serious concern at population level for our children and young people.

Questions would inevitably be raised – What has happened to these young people? Was it preventable? Does it hurt? How can we respond to this effectively and with urgency? Will it dissipate, or leave a scar? Why only some children? Were their photos posted online?

Will it ever happen again? What are the mental, emotional and physical impacts of such a shock to the mind, body and spirit? How can we help them to heal and recover?

These are the same questions we face into every day when we talk about bullying. Bullying is never acceptable. Nor is an unwelcome, uninvited, purple floral nose.

respectme, Scotland’s Anti-Bullying Service works to build the capacity of all adults who work with, or care for, children and young people to improve their competence and confidence to support children who are being bullied, or those who bully others. We do this by:

· Providing policy guidance to organisations to help them produce and implement robust anti-bullying policy and practice Model Anti-Bullying Policy Template in line with national guidance. Supporting documents – Anti-bullying guidance for adults working with children and young people – gov.scot

· Welcoming engagement in our ‘respectme reward’ programme, where the link between policy and practice is tested to demonstrate the impact of initiatives at local level and their subsequent effectiveness on the sense of safety that children report;

· Offering free online training for adult professionals, practitioners and parent/carers through our Anti-Bullying Learning Academy.

· Campaigning annually in Anti-Bullying Week every November on an engaging and important theme to encourage schools and youth organisations across the country to get involved – our resources are epic!

Bullying is a wicked, complex and enduring problem with a very long tail. If we could fix it we’d have done it by now. Thankfully, decades of academic research and strong, evidenced examples of good practice are helping to shift attitudes and improve understanding, prevention, response and inclusivity. We call on all adults to get alongside us and help in our drive for the changes needed to ensure safer and happier lives for the children and young people affected. 1 in 3. 1 in 3.

*H&W Census 2021/22
UNESCO, 2019

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