Media release
16 March 2009
Bullying major concern for school children
The recent report School safety: An inquiry into the safety of students at school, released by the Office of the
Children’s Commissioner yesterday, and to be presented at a Ministry of Education summit in Wellington today, shows that
bullying in our schools is a major problem for children.
“That school children in New Zealand are exposed to bullying is not new. Bullying has been identified as one of the
major issues facing children and young people, parents, educators and the community at large for many years now. Between
2001 and 2007 calls to 0800WHATSUP about bullying showed a rising trend, with the severity of bullying increasing. The
last two years have shown a flattening of that trend and some signs of reduction in severity but there is no room for
complacency”, says Grant Taylor, Executive Director of What’s Up.
“In the school setting, young people experience bullying as a frequent challenge. It is important to counter the view
that bullying is an inevitable part of school life. Schools and the wider community both must take the responsibility
for making it clear that bullying is an act of violence and will not be tolerated in our society. Schools have an
obligation to ensure they are a safe place for all students, and the OCC report identifies a number of ways they can
achieve this, such as introducing effective policies and procedures and implementing whole school approaches and
violence prevention programmes”, concludes Mr Taylor.
What’s Up receives in average 10,000 calls per week but is only able to answer about 27% of these calls. In order to
meet the high demand, What’s Up needs more funding and donations. People can donate by visiting www.whatsup.co.nz or
call the What’s Up office on (09) 630 4144.
ENDS