NCJ Number
213615
Journal
Journal of School Violence Volume: 4 Issue: 4 Dated: 2005 Pages: 47-62
Date Published
2005
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This case study of bullying in a 1 teacher rural school with 1 classroom composed of 28 children ages 5-13 focused on the circumstances of the bullying, how it became known, the degree of associated victim trauma, the roles of the various actors, the intervention strategy, and the case outcome.
Abstract
The bullying had extended over the past 9 months, which began when the victim entered fourth grade. The bullying initially consisted of minor incidents, but had recently escalated to hitting and tripping. The bullying resulted in considerable psychological distress for the victim that was kept hidden from family members until a sudden release of emotion and a sharing of the bullying incidents with family members. One of the authors, a friend of the victim's family, developed an intervention strategy that involved enlisting three of the bully's peers in "policing" the bully and his actions toward the victim. The intervention peaked when the three "police" observed the bully pushing the victim against a brick wall of the school building, which resulted in some bleeding and scarring of the victim's back. The "police" pinned the bully to the ground, commanding him that his violence and harassment of the victim must stop. Not a single incident of bullying occurred after this intervention. The authors credit the success of this intervention to a display of and experience of justice being done; i.e., the victim saw the bully being dominated and intimidated by stronger boys, followed by a cessation of the bullying; and the bully found out what it was like to be bullied himself, which apparently had a deterrent effect. 45 references