The Alliance against Bullying
Behind The Alliance against Bullying
Bullying causes stomach aches, leads to loneliness and can completely erode a child’s self-belief. Bullying remains a widespread problem in Danish schools, where 7% of children experience bullying at least twice a month. This equates to one or two children in every class.
Fortunately, bullying can be stopped through a targeted and holistic effort. This is the aim of The Alliance against Bullying, which consists of the Mary Foundation, Save the Children Denmark and Børns Vilkår.
The Alliance against Bullying is founded on the long-standing work of the three organisations on children’s well-being, including The Mary Foundation’s and Save the Children Denmark’s joint anti-bullying programme Free of Bullying. This initiative focuses on preventing bullying in preschools and primary schools – and now also in childcare facilities for babies and toddlers. It has also benefited from the experience of BørneTelefonen (The Children’s Telephone) and the Danish school campaign #DeVoksnesAnsvar (#TheAdultsResponsibility).
Among professionals, bullying is increasingly being acknowledged as a group phenomenon as opposed to only affecting the individual children involved. When a child is bullied, it typically reflects an unfortunate culture of exclusion, where no one can feel safe. This is why The Alliance against Bullying focuses on working with the whole group of children and their environment – it’s about creating positive values and cultures within the children’s groups.
The organisations’ existing projects will continue as normal and the work of the Alliance will consist of new anti-bullying initiatives for primary schools. The Alliance against Bullying bases its efforts on the new perspective on bullying, which regards bullying more as a group phenomenon than as a problem among individuals.
Bullying and Well-being
Bullying and a failure to thrive are interlinked. When a child is bullied, he or she does not thrive. And when a children's group is not thriving, there is a big risk of bullying and social isolation arising. Thriving in a children's group is all about giving all of the children the right tools and values, so that tolerance and togetherness become the focus. The work to prevent bullying is therefore inextricably linked with fostering well-being and inclusion.