At the school level, we conceptualized the formation of an ‘Anti-Bullying Cell’, a special room for distressed students to seek comfort and express their emotions through art, writing, and music.

For the smooth functioning of the cell, two teachers, volunteers and one school counsellor have been designated to oversee each case of bullying. If any case is noted, the school counsellors will ensure that the victims are helped throughout, and immediate action is taken against the bullies.

We presented this idea at the Youth Power Finale held in July 2023. A total of 11 handpicked teams from Amity Group of Schools across Delhi-NCR and UP participated in this event graced by Ayushman Jamwal, Senior Editor, CNN News 18 as the Chief Guest. The annual ethical leadership and social awareness competition was judged by an eminent jury comprising social worker Dr Neha Sharma and Dr Amitabh Singh, Associate Professor, JNU.

We conducted a round table panel discussion at Amity International School Pushp Vihar in January 2023, with subject matter experts and guests devoted to the cause of preventing bullying in all forms.

Panelists

Mr. Rakshit Tandon: Cyber Security Evangelist with experience of more than a decade in the Cyber Security Domain. Vocal about cyberbullying.

Maj Gen Gurpal Singh Bal (Retd): Dean Student Welfare, Dir Hostel, Dir Security and Dir Undergraduate Military Training.

Ms. Charvi Mendiratta: Amity alumnus who has had heart-wrenching experiences with bullying and would share how she tackled bullying to reach the success she has achieved today.

Dr. Kshitija Wason: Head Psychology Professor from Delhi University, helps children navigate the mental drainage bullying compels them to face.

Mr. Sunil Barsaiyan: Digital media expert with a deep understanding of the social media ecosystem, user behaviour, and platform algorithms. Strives to spread awareness against cyberbullying and online trolling.

Mrs. Ameeta Mohan: Our respected principal who has discerningly dealt with cases of children being bullied in school and implemented groundbreaking solutions for it.

Topics Covered

• Impact of optimism on bullying
• Social impacts of bullying
• How to distinguish between friendly banter and bullying
• Role of parents in tackling bullying
• Any transparent indication of bullying?
• Difference between how bullying was handled earlier and what it has come to today
• Importance of setting boundaries
• Impact of academic competition on bullying
• What’s worse? Traditional Bullying or CyberBullying
• Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on cyberbullying.

Results

• The discussion was kick-started by Charvi Mendiratta, a bullying victim, who was asked to give a piece of advice to her younger self, which could’ve possibly saved her from bullying. Her answer was a rather enlightening one for many - Not to overthink.
• With instances about how she never raised her voice or talked to her teachers, she explained how overthinking and self-blaming can create a vicious cycle of self-hate and lead to a worsening of the experiences.
• So it was very important to not overthink, and just be unfiltered, honest and vocal about one’s experiences.
• An insightful statement made by Dr. Wason left the audience in awe of the power that hopefulness and individuality have. “First line of defence is the armour you wear against bullying is your own” is how she viewed the power of optimism and positivity.
• She further emphasised the fact that a victim can seek help through innumerable mediums, but at the end of the day, they need to contribute to helping themselves, which can be done by having an unwavering optimistic attitude.
• General Bal chimed into the discussion with his views about how a person who has seen violence is the one who grows up to be a bully- which makes it pertinent to have a multi-phased approach towards bullying, where the intentions of the bully and the possible events that triggered such behaviour also need to be studied.
• Cyber-security expert, Mr. Rakshit Tandon then shared a tale about how bullying was handled, or mishandled in his childhood days, and how we’ve come a long way, but stern measures are still not so abundant for bullying, even today.
• He elaborated upon several laws which were on their way to be green-lit that would criminalize some acts of cyberbullying and how some provisions about impersonation already exist.
• When asked about the impact of academic pressure and competition on bullying, Mrs Ameeta Mohan commented about how it was a pretty relevant, yet unnoticed trigger for bullying and how one needs to build resilience, and be confident in themselves, irrespective of what a sheet of paper scores them as.
• The question that followed was about parental guidance and role with respect to bullying, something that most panellists could connect with, being parents themselves.
• Mr Tandon expounded on what must parents and schools do to help prevent cyberbullying, introducing the concept of Cyber-Citizenship which must be engraved in childrens’ minds at a tender age.
• He also coined an acronym for better cyber-hygiene- STP- Stop, Think and Post.
• Talking about how teachers should try sensing that someone is being bullied, if the victim is unable to muster enough courage to speak up, Mrs Mohan, shared her eye-opening experiences as a principal, where minor behavioural changes speak volumes about a pupil’s mental health.
• Teachers should help build the child’s self-esteem and motivate them constantly to report cases, in the process, eliminating the guilt attached to speaking up and offending people.
• Culminating the conference, each panellist gave their golden pieces of advice for all the students.
• Mr. Tandon advised students to use technology against technology, i.e. healthier technology to fight and challenge the contaminated way in which people use it- which could be done by reporting fake accounts, changing privacy settings in their social media apps etc.
• Mrs. Wason explained how surrounding ourselves with people who think better for us is as important as self-development.
• Mr. Sunil made the students realize that the internet is the product, and we’re consuming it, not the other way around.
• Ms. Charvi concluded the discussion by advising the students to engage themselves in hobbies or anything that can divert their minds from their experiences and gives them a refreshing breath of air.

Our team with all the panelists

We have associated with several organizations across sectors to sensitize them about bullying, its ill-effects and their role in curbing and penalizing behaviour that could hamper their staff’s well-being and efficiency.

Act Of Kindness Day At Buzzword Global Recruitment Services Pvt. Ltd.
(November 2022)

Letter of Thanks from P.P. Jewellers
(November 2022)

Letter of Acknowledgment from Vidyasagar Jeev Daya Trust

Letter of Thanks from Utopia Homes
(November 2022)

We conducted an online survey during the 10th February-20th February,2023 to analyze bullying’s institutional and societal perception among the youth, to gather concrete data on how people have been bullied and their approach.

Target Audience:

• Students (8-17 years)
• Adults (Teachers, parents etc..)

Methodology:

• An online survey questionnaire on people’s experiences with bullying, it’s perception in not only institutional but also societal settings.
• The questionnaire was uploaded via the medium of google forms.
• It was set in a way to receive concrete information about people’s experiences and their beliefs in terms of approach and prevalence of the problem in society.
• The results of the survey were organized, tabulated and examined.
• We were fortunate to receive over 450 responses.

We touched 2000+ lives through the Anti-Bullying booth and ‘Kindness Tree’ put up in Select Citywalk mall in Saket, Delhi. People were impressed with the display of artwork from our Art Exhibition camp and walked up to talk to us about their own experiences, and how they fought their bullies.

People from all walks of life wrote notes and pinned them on the different branches of the ‘Kindness Tree’, inspiring hope, peace, and love for victims.

Acknowledging that young children between 5 to 11 years find it hard to verbalize their emotions and express themselves freely, we developed a ‘Bullying Thermometer’, which contained different illustrations of bullying and asked them to point out any situations that they identified with.

As an Indian Classical dancer, Samaya deeply understands the therapeutic effects of movement. She has convinced four dance associations in India to venture into dance therapy for healing and herself conducted 10 dance workshops for sexually harassed women, acid attack survivors, and women suffering from physical and mental illnesses such as PTSD, Parkinson's disease, and depression, using psychotherapeutic movement to promote emotional, social, cognitive, and physical integration.

She also connected these women with financial literacy initiatives. Of these, 90% of women expressed their appreciation and enthusiasm to continue learning the routines about which Samaya informed them.