LAUNCH OF ANTI-BULLYING PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

OTTAWA, May 23, 2002 -- The Honourable Martin Cauchon, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today participated in the launch of a multi-year, multi-media anti-bullying public education campaign. The initiative, involving pro-social television spots, has been created by the Concerned Children's Advertisers (CCA), and is being supported under the Government of Canada's National Strategy on Community Safety and Crime Prevention.

The announcement was made today at the start of the three-day Fear and Loathing, a symposium on Bullying sponsored by Child and Youth Friendly Ottawa (CAYFO).  The first component of the public education initiative, Walk Away, launched today, addresses the issue of bullying, stressing the importance of mobilizing bystanders in a bullying situation.  The initiative also includes lesson plans and practical in-home strategies for educators and parents that will be delivered by an interactive program that brings discussion into classrooms and living rooms.

"Bullying is not the responsibility of one level of government or one sector of society.  It requires the involvement of the individuals, schools, and the larger community," said Minister Cauchon.  "By taking a collective stand against this behaviour in our schools and communities and working early on, we can change things for the better.  Intervening early in a positive and proactive manner holds the greatest promise for reducing bullying and preventing the escalation of future victimization and offending behaviour."

Bullying is the assertion of power through aggression. Bullies acquire power over their victims physically, emotionally, and socially.  Studies indicate that bullying occurs once every seven minutes on the playground and once every twenty-five minutes in class. Research has also linked bullying to future offending behaviour, indicating that 30 to 40 percent of children with aggression problems grow up to have problems with violence as adults.  As they grow up, bullies may transfer their abuse of power on the playground to other forms of harassment, violence or abuse.

"Bullying affects just about every child in Canada, either as a victim, bystander or bully," said Cathy Loblaw, President and C.O.O. of Concerned Children's Advertisers.  "Our hope is that this commercial will help children understand that by doing nothing -- just standing there and watching -- they are actually contributing to the problem.  We want to help kids realize they also have the power to play an important role in putting an end to bullying."

 "We have gathered, what is perhaps the finest group of international experts in this particular field for this event," remarked David Millen, Executive Director of Child and Youth Friendly Ottawa.  "We are thrilled that the Government of Canada's National Strategy is taking the initiative to profile and share information about this very critical and timely issue and is also looking to the future, so that what is becoming an increasing problem can, through preventative measures, be addressed.  With this conference, we hope to have a blueprint that clearly speaks to the need to move forward and raise awareness about the importance of engaging entire communities in addressing this problem."

The National Strategy takes an early intervention approach to crime prevention and community safety, and supports grass-roots responses to the factors that contribute to the problems of crime and victimization; factors that include violence, school problems and abuse.  The Strategy has identified children and youth among its priority areas, and a significant component therein are issues of school safety, including violence, conflict and bullying. 

The commercial also has the support of leading Canadian bullying experts, Dr. Debra Pepler and Dr. Wendy Craig, who have done extensive research to point to the fact that peers are key to helping reduce instances of bullying.  According to Dr. Pepler, "This commercial motivates bully bystanders to help stop bullying and provides them with positive ways that they can help to make a difference."

The CCA initiative has received support for a three-year period for the production of three public education campaigns. It has been provided under the National Strategy's Crime Prevention Partnership program, which supports the development of information, tools and resources that facilitate community participation, and Business Action Program, which supports the involvement of business and professional associations in corporate/community partnership projects to help reduce crime and improve community safety.

Administered by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, the Honourable Martin Cauchon, and the Solicitor General of Canada, the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, the National Strategy on Community Safety and Crime Prevention is part of a multi-faceted public safety agenda that balances a vigorous response to crime with a determined attack on its root causes.  Since its launch in 1998, the National Strategy has supported over 2,000 projects across Canada.  Of that number, about 100 projects, throughout the country, deal with the problem of bullying. 

Funding for this project was provided for in the December 2001 budget and is therefore built into the existing fiscal framework.

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Ref:

Mark Stokes
National Crime Prevention Centre
(613) 954-1721

Suzanne Thébarge
Minister Cauchon's Office
(613) 992-4621

Dan Brien
Minister MacAulay's Office
(613) 991-2924