International Day against Violence and Bullying at School, including Cyberbullying
I was victim of bullying, including cyberbullying, since eleven years old to eighteen years old. Today, I am a survivor, co-creator of the International Me Too Schools initiative, and scientist dedicated to this vital issue that affects children, families, and societies around the world. Today, as on every first Thursday of November, we observe the International Day Against Violence and Bullying at School, including Cyberbullying, as declared by the UNESCO Member States.
Scientific evidence has already shown, and there is broad social consensus, that the solution lies in bystander intervention — which means the intervention of everyone in supporting the victims. However, there is also consensus that this rarely happens in practice: victims often are isolated, usually afraid to report what is happening, while others who support bystander intervention often hesitate to act for fear of reprisals.
Two great scientific discoveries offer a very successful solution. The first is the development of regulations, policies, and actions that counter isolating violence, helping to overcome reprisals against those who support victims. When such reprisals aim to keep victims isolated, the scientific discovery of the concept of isolating gender violence helps to clarify and address these dynamics. The other discovery is the Zero Violence Brave Club, constituted by those individuals within a school who form a shield that stands between the aggressors and the victims, making it clear to the aggressors that they will not tolerate such behavior until they change.
The concepts of Isolating Gender Violence and the Zero Violence Brave Club are the bridges that help children cross the abyss from the painful situations they are currently experiencing to a reality of bystander intervention that puts an end to violence.
Co-founder and coordinator of the International Me Too Schools
Adjunct Professor of Sociology at the Universidad de Barcelona
Clarinetist graduated from the Conservatory of Music of Aragón.