Youth to lead anti-bullying group

Dunedin Coalition Against Family Violence (DCAFV) co-ordinator Dr Rob Thomson (left) and co...
Dunedin Coalition Against Family Violence (DCAFV) co-ordinator Dr Rob Thomson (left) and co-ordinator Tarn Felton look forward to working with children and young people on establishing a new anti-bullying programme in the city. Photo by Brenda Harwood

A new youth-led programme to take action against bullying is to be launched in Dunedin early next year.

The Dunedin Coalition Against Family Violence and Stopping Violence Dunedin have received a $97,000 grant through the Ministry of Social Development's Te Punanga Haumaru community action fund to establish the anti-bullying project.

Experienced youth worker Tarn Felton has been employed as the project co-ordinator.

DCAFV family violence response co-ordinator Dr Rob Thomson said the organisation was launching the programme in response to a recognition that bullying in youth was a factor in family violence.

''People learn to bully in youth and take that with them into future relationships,'' Dr Thomson said.

''The aim of the programme is to help youth to respond to bullying in appropriate ways and learn methods to prevent bullying.''

When researching the project, DCAFV held sessions with focus groups in three age groups - 9 to 12 years, 12 to 15, and 15 to 19. The youngsters were asked to define what bullying meant to them, what would help prevent it, and what would make it worse.

''What was most interesting to me was the difference in the actions the three groups would take in response to bullying,'' Dr Thomson said.

The youngest group would tell an adult or teacher, the middle group felt telling an adult would make the bullying worse, while the older group focused on revenge, he said.

''One thing they all agreed on was that the wrong response from adults would make the situation worse.''

The different age groups also had different definitions of bullying, from ''yelling and teasing'' for the youngest children to ''guilt trips, undermining self-esteem, racism, and cyberbullying'' in the oldest group.

In researching the programme, DCAFV found that many initiatives to prevent bullying had not been particularly successful or seen as relevant to youth. In response to this, it was intended that the programme would be youth-led, with guidance from Ms Felton, and would include developing a website, music, videos, stories, and a major community concert.

''The idea really is for the young people to develop their own resources for themselves,'' Dr Thomson said.

In working to establish the programme, DCAFV would liaise with schools and community and youth organisations.

Ms Felton, who has a bachelor of arts in theatre and Maori studies and is finishing a bachelor of social work at the University of Otago, believes youth engagement is vital to the success of the programme.

''The idea is that it is a youth-led project, which I will be helping to co-ordinate,'' she said.

''There have been many projects created by adults, with the best intentions, but because they don't have ownership from young people, they fall over.

''We are hoping that this project will have longevity, and that it will become something that can be built on and expanded.''

The target group for the programme was all of Dunedin's youth, but its initial focus would be on schools and groups in South Dunedin. This was because DCAFV was already working with agencies and groups in the area.

- by Brenda Harwood 

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