WELCOME!
The Community Task Force on Bullying Prevention of Monroe County, New York has designed this website as a resource to support bullying preventionand intervention efforts in our community.

Who is The Community Task Force on Bullying Prevention?

The Community Task Force on Bullying Prevention, founded in 2002, includes parents, multiple school districts, mental health professionals, community agencies, fire service and law enforcement as members. Over the past four years the task force has sponsored multiple initiatives to engage the community to take action to promote bullying prevention. Education has been provided through two community wide-conferences, development of a Speaker’s Bureau to respond to requests from parents and community groups, and an ongoing series on bullying topics called, Continuing the Conversation. In addition, the task force has developed multiple resources including a bullying prevention DVD (orders for the DVD can be placed through the "contact us" section), and a model school policy on bullying. Youth involvement has been a high priority for the task force and youth have participated through a community-wide poster contest as well as presenters at both conferences.

Please visit the Speaker`s Bureau to learn about presentations we offer on bullying prevention. Arrangement can be arranged through "contact us." We also invite you to submit and add resources to our Community Toolbox .

What is Bullying?

Bullying is an interaction between people with unequal power or status with the intent to humiliate or physically injure an individual. It can be a single incident or an ongoing pattern of behavior. It can occur between children and/or adults. Bullying is NOT a childhood rite of passage.

Bullying takes many forms, and can be:

• Physical: Kicking, hitting, hair pulling, tripping, pushing or threatening physical harm. More subtle forms of physical bullying include intimidation through glares or “stare-downs.” Extortion, stealing money and destroying possessions are also forms of physical bullying.
• Verbal: Name calling, spreading gossip/rumors, teasing, put-downs, and slurs based on race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. Verbal attacks may be direct or occur through written notes, graffiti, text messaging, or the internet.
• Emotional: Deliberate exclusion form peer group, snubbing, manipulation of friendships, humiliation.

• Some people do not deserve to be treated with kindness
• Some people have the right to be cruel

• 30% of 6th – 10th graders reported moderate to frequent involvement with bullying as the bully, victim or both.
• Nationally it is estimated that 160,000 students a day stay home from school due to bullying
• Bullies identified at age 8 are six times more likely to have a criminal conviction by age 24.
• Targets of bullying experience increased rates of depression, even into adulthood.