Campaigns against bullying at school have become prominent in the UK in recent years, but a new project has emerged which looks to be a game-changer.

A group of young people from Pembroke Dock Youth Forum have teamed up with youth charity Fixers. The aim of the project is to encourage young people to examine their own behaviours and question whether or not it could be hurting the feelings of others. The aim is to understand how bullying happens, and to try and re-educate young people on how to avoid becoming a bully.

Some of the young people involved are able to draw off their own experiences in aid of their work. The group’s leader, Taylor McLeod, has spoken out about her own behaviour, which she now acknowledges was that of a bully. “I took things too far sometimes and I didn’t realise. I regret every moment of it”. Now, she is able to use her past mistakes to help others.

The project idea demonstrates a real insight into bullying as a complex problem which needs to be battled on many fronts; by supporting victims on the one hand, and educating perpetrators on the other. Studies have found that in many cases, those who bully are, or have been at some time, victims of bullying themselves. Furthermore, as the projects’ video (below) shows, many cases of bullying are not as clear-cut as some of the more extreme examples we see in the media.

The young people behind the project demonstrate a real wisdom in recognising that in order to solve a problem, you have to begin at the source. Furthermore, by taking responsibility for their past actions in order to help others, they demonstrate a maturity and courage that should be an example to us all.

 

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