Anti-bullying policy​​

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DiscipleM is committed to providing a safe, pleasant, and harmonious environment for our students, staff, community members, and visitors. Everyone has a RIGHT to feel safe and comfortable in our community. Therefore, we have a zero-tolerance for bullying in our meetings, classes, and social media platforms.

Cyberbullying takes place via emails, instant messaging, video meetings, social media, etc. A person from any of our groups can become either a victim or bully; namely, staff, students, other members, and visitors. 

 

WHAT IS BULLYING? 

Bullying is abusive, violent, discriminating, belittling, or offensive treatment which is aimed at an individual or group. It is deliberate and often repeated. Because bullying is subjective, some people may defend, disguise, or excuse such behaviour. The bottom line is that A HOSTILE ACT THAT PRODUCES A VICTIM is bullying. It leaves the victim feeling traumatized, excluded, intimidated, powerless, defenceless, or unsafe. The effects may even last long-term, resulting in depression, an inferiority complex, or a ruined life. 

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BULLYING IS NOT

• disagreeing with someone else's views, in  a respectful manner (everyone has the right to have his own views)

• a one-off argument (where there is no maliciousness).  

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TO PREVENT BULLYING

All members and users of the DiscipleM​ community are required to: 

• treat each other with respect and kindness whether by direct conversations or through posts

• be tolerant 

• look out for each other 

• only post helpful, uplifting, positive material, e.g., academic or Christian 

• be careful with the personal information that you share online 

• not to post controversial, argumentative, or hostile posts 

• THINK and UNDERSTAND before SPEAKING, posting or commenting.

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THINK first

Is it...?T- true

H- helpful

I- inspiring

N- necessary 

K- kind

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BULLYING MAY BE: 

• DIRECT where someone is treated badly, such as being shouted at.

• INDIRECT where someone is excluded (from being treated well); for instance, where everyone receives a greeting except for one person who is excluded.  
   

EXAMPLES OF BULLYING 

• threatening someone

• physically touching or hitting someone, or invading his personal space 

• demeaning, harassing or mocking a person 

• publicizing private or sensitive information about someone 

• ignoring, singling out, or excluding someone

• making unwanted sexual advances or comments 

• spreading rumours 

• shouting at or laughing at someone

• using derogatory terms about one's race, age, gender, etc. 

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SOMEONE MAY BE BULLIED BECAUSE OF:

• age

• religious beliefs

• political views

• race, colour, ethnicity, or culture  

• sexuality (homosexual, celibate)  

• gender

• disability or other health conditions 

• educational ability or background ('too bright' or 'not bright enough') 

• physical appearance or speech 

• financial background 

• achievements

• pregnancy, maternity, or the number of children he/she has.  

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ALSO, SOME PEOPLE MAY BE BULLIED BECAUSE OF: 

• stress or trauma

• inability to cope with personal problems 

• disadvantaged upbringing

• unstable family-life or friendships

• low self-esteem

• they bullied in the past and they, in turn, become bullied

If you feel concerned about these issues, please, talk to us.

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HATE CRIMES 

Aside from being an act of harassment or discrimination, in certain cases, bullying is a crime. It is illegal to pick on and ill-treat someone because of his:

• sexuality 

• religion 

• disability 

• transgenderism

• race.

 

BULLYING MAY BE DONE AGAINST 

• the person 

• his property (intellectual, financial or physical) 

• online posts.

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WITNESSES TO BULLYING 

Witnesses play different roles:  

• OUTSIDERS witness the bullying situation, but stay out of it and do not get involved; sometimes this is out of fear

• REINFORCERS support the person who bullies by laughing, encouraging, or cheering during or after the incident

• ASSISTANTS help the bully during the act by joining in against the target

• DEFENDERS step in to stop the bully, and protect or support the victim.

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IF YOU HAVE BEEN BULLIED OR WITNESSED IT

• Report it here—or speak to a teacher, a member of staff, your parents or a friend and ask them to report it

• Be assured it is not your fault; the bully is wrong 

• Don't be afraid to speak up; find someone that you trust and tell him

• If the bully threatens you again, report that too. 

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In order to succeed against bullying, we all have to work together: teachers, students, and all our community members/users.     

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DISCIPLE'S RESPONSIBILITY 

In order to prevent and address bullying, we go through our code of conduct with all students and staff before they start their membership. Other community members are required to read and agree to a short anti-bullying statement, and are given a link to this policy before they join.

Being kind, considerate and respectful will prevent most issues. We have anti-bullying policies for our school, and anti-bullying statements (with links to our website) on our social media platforms. These come with appropriate procedures for reporting and dealing with bullying.

Albeit, whenever bullying occurs, we will: 

• investigate and respond to each case

• provide follow-up and support for the victim and, if necessary, the witnesses too 

• provide the appropriate warnings or punishment for the bully; we may refer him to an external agency for counselling

• liaise with the relevant authorities (parents, meditators, police, etc.) whenever the need arises. 

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STUDENTS & OTHER MEMBERS' RESPONSIBILITY 

• Be kind and respectful to all other members of our community

• Be careful with your personal information, sensitive matters, and passwords, so they don't end up in the wrong hands where they can be used against you 

• Be alert; look out for bullying

• Report it to us: you can choose to be anonymous (we promise not to tell your name if you don't us to) 

• Be supportive to the victim and reassure him

• Don't laugh with or support the bully while he is bullying someone, or afterwards.  

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WITNESSES' RESPONSIBILITY

• SPEAK UP. Studies show that when onlookers intervene, the bullying stops within 10 seconds 57% of the time (School Psychology Review, Volume 41, No. 1)

• Bullies love the attention and approval of bystanders; don't give them approval

• Show or tell them of your disapproval 

• Don't take sides with the bully; bullies will try to validate (or defend) the bullying 

• Report it as soon as you can; we will not name you if you don't want us to.  

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PARENTS' RESPONSIBILITY 

• Talk to your child about bullying

• Instruct him not to bully others

• Remind him to be kind to others

• Talk about issues that concern him

• Reassure him that he has your support if he reports bullying or speaks up against a bully

• If your child has been bullied, please, report bullying here 

• Then reassure your child that it's not his fault

• Tell him that he's brave to speak up

• Tell him not to take revenge

• Disciple will keep you updated on the case.

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TEACHERS' RESPONSIBILITY 

Teachers are responsible for providing safe learning spaces. They are to fill out a bullying incident report whenever they witness it or it is reported to them. They will also speak to both the person who was bullied and the bully, making sure to reassure the victim. The teachers will then warn or punish the bully, as they see fit. Disciple's admin will then follow up with both the bully and targeted person.   

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REPORT IT

To effectively tackle bullying, we need the victims and witnesses to report and testify against bullies. Please, report bullying by contacting us.

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WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

A member of staff will contact the victim, the alleged bully, and witnesses (if there are any). We will investigate the incident to see exactly what happened and enforce appropriate punishment/counselling, provided that the alleged bully is found guilty. Depending on the severity of the case, the bully will be warned; he could also be suspended or expelled from our school, or blocked from our online communities.

Adult victims or the parents of underaged victims will receive a written report of the incident and updates. In cases where a crime has been or is likely to be committed, the perpetrator will be reported to the police.  

 

FOLLOW UP 

After judging the case and finding solutions, we will conduct follow-up sessions with both the victim and bully after 1 week, 2 weeks, and 1 month. We will record if the bullying has reoccurred with:

• verbal comments in meetings or classes 

• offensive posts/comments about the victim on social media

• unwanted messages 

• other harassment or victimization. 

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VICTIMISATION

This is where a victim or witnesses are targeted and mistreated for reporting a bully. Just as we do not tolerate bullying, we will also not tolerate victimisation; you may report it here. 

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COMPLAINTS

If you are dissatisfied with the way your case has been dealt with, you may complain here. 

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FALSE ACCUSATIONS 

Bullying is a serious matter and we ask that only genuine cases be reported, as a false accusation can hurt the person in question. Lying about bullying will lead to the accuser being disciplined. Lying is against our code of conduct.

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Let's work together to prevent and root out bullying whenever it is done. Thank you.

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