Peer bullying was examined at CIU

Cyprus International University (CIU) organized an event on peer bullying, which is common in schools today and causes serious harm to both the bullied and the bully. The online seminar titled “Thinking Model with Multidimensional Perspectives and Peer Bullying in the Context of Recommendations", which was given by CIU Faculty of Education Academic staff Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çağla Gür, saw participation by almost 400 psychological counselors and guidance counselors from Turkey.

Advising that peer bullying is often experienced in children by individuals of the same age group that involves behaviors such as repetitive physical, verbal or relational aggression, Gür went on to state, “Here, there is an imbalance of power, where the child who is bullying is in a stronger position. Continuity is possible. There is an intention to harm the other individual. Additionally, this other individual has the issue of being threatened with further aggression”.

Pointing out that equal peer level arguments or fights, or an issue that only occurred once cannot be defined as peer bullying, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gür stated that for it to be defined as this, it needs to be continuous.

Gür: “Both the victim child and the bullying child are under risk”
Reminding that both the child victim and bullying child are under risk, Gür stated that should this situation continue for a long time, the victim child will be unable to cope with this and thus, may become lonely, with there being a risk of experiencing situations such as depression, substance-alcohol addiction, and attempts at suicide.

Explaining that the bullying children may experience situations such as alcohol and drug consumption, aggression and being involved in criminal activities, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gür noted "Whether it is the bully or the bullied, both are our children and they both have the common problem of being unable to express themselves”.

Underlining that in this situation the victim child tends to blame themselves, Gür said that these children tend to think that it is their fault instead of seeking any help.

Reminding that protecting the child from bullying starts with good communication, Çağla Gür highlighted the importance of supporting both the bully and the victim by providing education to support their social skills. In addition to these, Gür advised of the existence of some techniques that supports child relaxation and the ridding of anxiety and demonstrated some examples of these.

Drawing attention to the importance of multidimensional perspective thinking in order to find solutions in relation to peer bullying, Gür concluded, “Efforts should be made to find solutions by supporting the child via activities in evaluating the dimensions, such as self-knowledge, getting to know the other individual, group work activities with group communication, raising awareness in relation to societal needs, self-realization and contribution to these dimensions”.