Expert Alert - Stopping bullies at schools, at work and online - Canadian Institutes of Health Research experts discuss the health consequences of bullying

OTTAWA, Sept. 24, 2012 /CNW/ - While schools and workplaces should be safe environments, at least 1 in 3 adolescent students have reported being bullied recently and 40% of Canadian workers have experienced bullying on a weekly basis. Repeated harassment in the forms of teasing, name calling, hitting and spreading rumours has a long-term impact on people's physical and mental health. In fact, bullying can lead to anxiety, depression and even suicide in extreme cases. Cyberspace makes the problem of bullying even worse because it allows people to virtually harass others at home. Results from the 2009 General Social Survey on Victimization showed that 7% of adult Internet users in Canada, age 18 years and older, self-reported having been a victim of cyber-bullying at some point in their life.

Because no one deserves to be treated this way, CIHR-funded researchers are available to discuss anti-bullying strategies that have been developed to solve this health issue in schools, at work and online.

                                     New Ontario legislation on bullying - in force as of Sept. 1
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Experts:

I'm calling in sick today! Social and health problems faced by those who are bullied
Dr. Joy Johnson, Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health (Vancouver, BC)

Tackling homophobic bullying in schools and on the Internet
Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc, CIHR-funded researcher (Vancouver, BC)

Stop calling me ugly! Childhood stress and bullying victimization
Dr. Isabelle Ouellet-Morin, CIHR-funded researcher (Montréal, QC)

Teasing the most vulnerable ones: teens with autism spectrum disorder
Dr. Debra Pepler, CIHR-funded researcher (Toronto, ON)

Cyberbullying - I don't like!
Dr. Claire Beaumont, Research Chair in Security and Violence in the Educational Environment, Laval University, Quebec QC

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the Government of Canada's health research investment agency. CIHR's mission is to create new scientific knowledge and to enable its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian health care system. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to more than 14,100 health researchers and trainees across Canada.

SOURCE: Canadian Institutes of Health Research

To schedule an interview, please contact: 
David Coulombe
CIHR Media Relations
613-941-4563
[email protected]