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Report kicks off UK's first anti bullying week

Two new reports released this week to coincide with Britain's first Anti Bullying Week are set to re-ignite debates around the menacing problem.

One suggests that personal appearance has a role to play and the other reports that the parents of many bullies say they have lost control over their kids.

Both reports – the first to be published by the Craniofascial Society in the New Year and the second published by Childline this week – take alternative approaches to dealing with bullying, which can include anything from persistent taunting to violence and affects up to half of the UK's schoolchildren.

Controversy

'Ignoring it doesn’t make it stop: adolescents, appearance and anti-bullying strategies' has already been attacked by some sceptics as controversial. It claims bullies are normally attracted to their victims because of their personal appearance, body language and dress. The result of a five-year study involving 1,000 teenagers, the report suggest that if a child or young person makes eye contact, stands confidently and wears clothes that do not make them appear as though they are ashamed of their body, they can minimise the chances of being bullied.

Last week its author was accused of suggesting children should wear tight clothes and pander to bullies and some child experts have responded to the strategies with scepticism.

But speaking to the Voice this week author Emily Lovegrove defended her research by saying that children's personal appearance matter in the same way parents ensure they 'look' the part for work. She said the study was a very serious piece of work.

"I never once suggested wearing tight fitting clothes is a good idea, and the report is certainly not controversial to teenagers," she said. "But parents do need to take on board physical appearance in the same way they care about their own personal needs. I am not advocating buying the latest trainers and never advocated parents spend a fortune on clothes, but that appearance is as important to young people as it is to parents. If you go to work you have a kind of uniform you wear. All I was saying is we need to be aware of this."

The background to the report is based on Lovegrove's work with people with facial disfigurements. She says such people often suffer feelings of isolation and need strategies to help boost their social confidence. These strategies can also work for teens, who often "feel screwed up about their appearance and try to disappear and disguise their looks".

Lovegrove admits she is not a champion of traditional anti bullying strategies either.

"I think they are a nonsense. Tackle bullying with more bullying and what have you achieved? I am for defusing bullying. I am talking about psychological bullying which almost always precedes physical. Then you have much better chance of it not turning into violence."

Parents

Her research tallies with recommendations made by national charity Parentline Plus, who say anti bullying work should also involve the parents of those doing the bullying. The call is part of a number of recommendations by the charity in response to its own research that shows how families fear they are losing control and struggling with high stress levels when their child is a bully.

The report paints a picture of dysfunction, conflict and anger, and highlights the complexity and adversity these families face.

Says Parentline Plus CEO Dorit Braun “These findings concern us greatly. Not only are parents of bullies telling us that they are losing control, but the statistics demonstrate the very high levels of conflict both within the families, the school and the community.

"When we look at the number of parents ringing us we can see that bullying in UK is very critical," Braun told the Voice. "And our figures are probably understated if we think about the number that can’t get through."

The report concludes that targeted support is needed, especially if there is violence within the home (violence from the child), as without such support, the lives of those bullied will continue to unravel and the families of those doing the bullying will not be in any position to prevent this destruction.

Continues Braun “It is essential that when schools and communities develop policies to cut down on bullying and to ensure community safety, the families of bullies are recognised as needing responsive and appropriate help with their family life and not further isolation.

"Children who are bullies are generally unhappy – and then again the children who are bullied are unhappy, too. There are no simplistic solutions. People need to be alert to it and willing to work with the complexity and mess that is involved."