Over 2,400 students respond to on-line survey on bullying and intimidation - Vanier College Students' Association Submits Memoir on Bullying and Intimidation

MONTREAL, Dec. 2, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - The Vanier College Students Association's Social Justice Committee is pleased to announce that it has submitted its memoir as part of the provincial government's public consultation on bullying and intimidation.

For the purposes of this memoir the V.C.S.A.'s Social Justice Committee explored the theme of efficient intervention strategies for dealing with bullying and intimidation. Using the slogan "Help a Bully Save A Victim" the goal was to examine the root causes of bullying in order to better understand the societal forces that may cause an individual to engage in bullying activities.

"The ultimate goal is to address these root causes and engage in early-detection interventions while offering as many resources as possible to potential bullies in order to prevent them from acting out.  We feel this approach is unique since many anti-bullying campaigns focus mostly on providing support and assistance to victims," said Majed Abou Alkhir, President of the Vanier College Students' Association.

In order to sensitize the student population to the issues of bullying and intimidation, the V.C.S.A's Social Justice Committee organized a student panel on the topic.  The panel discussion was held on November 19^th and was designed to explore students' perceptions about the problem. The issue of Quebec's multicultural society was also raised in terms of ensuring that proper education is offered to families arriving in Canada and Quebec from certain countries and cultures where bullying may be more tolerated. For example, during the panel discussion some students of Haitian and South American origins admitted that using force and violence as a disciplinary measure in their native cultures was tolerated and accepted.

As part of the preparation for writing the memoir the V.C.S.A also launched a comprehensive on-line survey in order to better understand both the reasons and impacts of bullying on a day-to-day basis and to better address the issue and provide support when incidences of bullying and intimidation occur. A total of 2,468 people responded to the survey over the course of a 9-day period.  

Some of the conclusions of the survey were:

• 94,1% of respondents said they had never been bullied at Vanier;
• 48,4 % of respondents said they had been bullied at high school level;
• 18.5% of respondents said they had either "often" or "sometimes" witnessed violence at home;
• 91.5 % of respondents said they felt Vanier represents a safe and tolerant environment;
• 8.7 % of respondents agreed it is ok to send messages to someone about how you dislike him/her;
• 8,2 % of respondents agreed that if their habits are hurtful to people there is no way for them to change;
• 61,4% of respondents said that their history with bullying has been mainly verbal bullying.
• 12.9 % of respondents said it's ok to call a friend "gay" as an insulting remark;

As part of its conclusions the V.C.S.A recommends that the Quebec government take all necessary measures to ensure proper socialization can take place whereby it is made abundantly clear for families immigrating to the province that acts of violence, bullying and intimidation are unacceptable in Quebec society.  This can be achieved via comprehensive outreach programs and public awareness campaigns.

For more information please consult the memoir.

SOURCE: Vanier College

Majed Abou Alkhir, President, Vanier College Students Association, [phone] ext. 7065