After hearing about a friend's personal experience recently, I knew that this would definitely have to be the next topic for the project. Cutting is one of the most popular acts of self-harm, usually any form of self-harm is just a person's way to cope with relationships, frustrations, insecuries, and life. First of all, I want to let anyone know who has been cutting... Why? You might feel not wanted, alone, or not pretty. But you should know that there is someone who wants you, wants to be with you, and sees you as the most beautiful thing they've ever known. They might or might not be in your life at the moment, but I know there is someone out there who's thinking about what it would be like to meet a person with all the qualities you feel are flaws. I know this, because I feel like that everyday. Wondering about people I'm not sure exist. You are good enough, and anyone who tells you you're not, they aren't any better. Everytime you head into your bathroom cabinet for the razor, everytime that thought crosses your mind when you see a flame, just remember that girl who wrote how she felt about you. About anyone who does or has done this at any point in their life...

 
Today I decided to take on the subject of gay people being bullied. If you are considered a 'gay person' by your surroundings, know that you should not be outcasted just because of your life choice. In my eyes you are just a person. Many people I'm close to are called straight, but you know what I call them? Friends. Sadly, not all of society feels the same way. For choosing this lifestyle, thousands of people are tormented because of it. A 13-year-old lesbian from Ohio, talks about how coming out lead to name calling and social isolation. "I came out of the closet and it felt good at first. But then people started being jerks. I got called "lesbo" and "that lesbian chick" all day and all my supposed friends won't hang out with me anymore. It sucks. Lunch is the worst. I hate it when you sit down at a table and everyone gets up at once and leaves. It's like I have an infectious disease that if they sit near me they'll get." Older kids are less likely to be bullied, but they aren't exempt from it. An 18-year-old, who ended up failing math one year, recalls his experience in that class. "My math class was in a really small classroom. I sat in the front, or near the front, and everyone else sat in the back row. They hated me being gay and would throw paper balls at me and stuff, and call me names (which I didn't mind up till the teacher wouldn't help me)."

 
 
WARNING: May contain PG-13 material. Do not read if underage...

Last year a fifteen year-old, Amanda Todd, sadly decided to end her life due to being a victim of severe bullying. In a Youtube video left behind, she told the story by flash card set to a maudlin song 'Hear To Me' her story is this. A few years ago, she was chatting with someone she met online, a man who flattered her. At his request, she flashed him. The man took a picture of her breasts. He then proceeded to follow Todd around the Internet for years. He asked her to put on another show for him, but she refused. So he’d find her classmates on Facebook and send them the photograph. To cope with the anxiety, Todd descended into drugs and alcohol and ill-advised flirtations and sex. Her classmates ostracized her. She attempted suicide a few times before finally succeeding. Todd’s suicide is easily analogized to Tyler Clementi’s, mostly because the public has diagnosed both cases as the result of “cyber-bullying.” Yet, as a descriptive term, “cyber-bullying” feels deliberately vague. Somewhere in the midst of the “mob” there is usually at least one person whose cruelty exceeds the tossing off of a stray insult. In Clementi’s case, the magazine’s Ian Parker chalked the harasser’s motives up to “shiftiness and bad faith,” the kinds of things that criminal statutes can’t easily be invoked to cover. But with Todd’s harasser, the malice is unquestionable. Anyone who has ever been to high school knows what they are provoking by distributing photographs like that. 

 
A victim of childhood bullying, Detroit Tiger Prince Fielder encouraged students Thursday night to help put an end to bullying in their schools. "Obviously, if you're seeing someone get bullied, you know it's not right ... just tell someone," Fielder said at the "Strike Out Bullying" forum at Royal Oak Middle School. Presenters at the event, part of the Detroit Tigers 2013 Winter Caravan, offered tips on how to deal with bullies, urged students to respect others' differences and warned that bullying can lead to violence or even suicide. "Put yourself in the victim's shoes," U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade told the crowd in the school's auditorium. McQuade said tools like Facebook give children the power to bully in a harsh, expansive way. She said students should peacefully stand up for other kids who are being bullied, tell a teacher or parent if they or someone else is being bullied and walk away if they become the target of a bully...

 
(Original Article Found At respectme.org.uk)

Just over two thirds of the Scottish population reported having a religion in the 2001 census. The most common faith was Christianity followed by Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism and Hinduism. 27% of people stated their religion as 'other' and 27.5% of people stated that they had no religion. Bullying based on religion is directed against individuals and groups because of their actual or perceived religious belief or their connection with a particular religion or belief. For example, someone may be targeted because of the religion of a friend or family member, or because they are wrongly assumed to belong to a particular faith community, due to their appearance. And even if the individual is, no one has the right to make them feel any less then other people. Persons may also experience bullying because they don't hold a particular faith or because of their philosophical beliefs that shape their view of the world they live in...

 
 
Bullying can threaten students’ physical and emotional safety at school and can negatively impact their ability to learn. The best way to address bullying is to stop it before it starts. There are a number of things school staff can do to make schools safer and prevent bullying.

Assess Bullying In Your School Assess school prevention and intervention efforts around student behavior, including substance use and violence. You may be able to build upon them or integrate bullying prevention strategies. Many programs help address the same protective and risk factors that bullying programs do. Conduct assessments in your school to determine how often bullying occurs, where it happens, how students and adults intervene, and whether your prevention efforts are working.

 
'My name is Abigail. I was a pretty happy, go-lucky kind of girl. I had my friends, acquaintances and a few people who I didn't particularly like, but no one was my enemy...

Well, my 5th grade year, my family went through a devastating house fire. It left us homeless and nowhere to go. My friend who had been with me 9 years got mad because I was getting more attention" then her. So she start causing issues with other people around me. All the while I became really sick, and the doctors ended up finding 2 tumors in my chest. At 10-11 years old thats like a nightmare in reality. The whole time my "friend" ignoring me and making people dislike me, saying that I was being a drama queen. Although I had a smile on my face, I was slowly on a one-way train to depression...

 
(Article found at bullyingstatistics.com)

There are many types of negative physical interactions that can occur between young people, including fighting, practical jokes, stealing, & sexual harassment. These things are not considered physical bullying unless:  The same victim is targeted repeatedly; The bully or bullies intend to hurt, embarrass, or intimidate the victim; The actions occur in a situation with a real or perceived imbalance of power, such as when the bully is stronger than the victim or has a higher social standing.

In this context, physical bullying can take many forms:

Hitting; Pushing; Tripping; Slapping; Spitting;Stealing & destroying possessions, including books, clothing, or lunch money. Physical bullying may also cross the line into sexual harassment or sexual assault...