Parents need to be aware that Bullying has gone Hi-Tech
The presentation of the P.E.I. Home and School Federation to the P.E.I. legislature's standing committee on social development, March 9, 2006.

View the presentation (PDF - 32kb)

The Prince Edward Island Home and School Federation thanks you for this opportunity to come and present our concerns and ideas on an issue that is becoming increasingly serious in our schools and society - cyberbullying.

Most of us are aware of bullying at school. We likely have talked with our children about who was being bullied, offered advice or intervened if our child was being bullied, or dealt with complaints that our child may even be a bully. This type of bullying, as damaging as the experience can be, is for the most part restricted to the school property or within its vicinity. But Cyberbullying extends to the world, can be even more dangerous and damaging, and cannot be erased.

The saying that "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me" has never been comforting to those who have experienced bullying. At Home and School, we are very proud of the amazing work that Tami Martell, a former board member, had done over the past decade to build awareness of the impact and seriousness of verbal abuse.

The PEI Home and School Federation has placed priority over the years on helping to make our schools and communities safe and accepting places for all of our children. For example, last spring, we coordinated three Diversity Youth Forums across PEI which involved almost 2,000 Grade 8 students and their teachers in a day of discussions and presentations on diversity and openness. In 2000, we sponsored Reverend Dale Lang to come to PEI and speak about the events that led to the tragic death of his son in Taber, Alberta in 1999 at the hands of another student. Our organization has sponsored speakers on Internet safety at our provincial, local, and regional meetings. Projects have developed a teen violence prevention video "LEAVE" or "Let's End Adolescent Violence Everywhere" and two video scripts, "The Party Girl" and "Egg Boy" on internet safety/bullying and alcohol & drug for grades 9-12.

The expansion of communications channels, including, weblogs, chat rooms, emailing, text messaging, and hate websites, and the continuing growth in the number of Island families with home access to the Internet, is exposing more and more of our children to greater risks of being cyberbullied in more ways.

What is Cyberbullying?