An Interview with Sameera Ahmed, Ph.D., Director of The Family & Youth Institute

In today’s environment, incidents of bullying against Muslim youth have risen, resulting in concern for schools and youth organizations. I spoke with Sameera Ahmed, Ph.D., Director of The Family & Youth Institute and a leading researcher on American Muslim youth, about what mentoring practitioners can do to build supportive and inclusive programs that meet the needs of Muslim youth and families, while promoting the safety and inclusion of all participants.

Girl with hijab drinking coffee with friends

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Pediatrician examining child 

Pediatric health care providers are an important, front line, family-trusted group that can not only detect the warning signs of victimization, but are also in a position to advise parents and advocate for their patients. It is important for health care providers to be prepared to screen and counsel children for bullying during both routine health maintenance exams and illness visits.

 

More than one in four children in America says he or she has experienced being bullied, but only 20-30% of those children ever report it to an adult. This startling statistic can be... Continue Reading

Media coverage of social issues has a profound impact on how communities understand and address problems. Research and expert opinion suggest that certain trends in media coverage of bullying have the potential to do harm. In fact, an analysis of media articles has shown that certain elements of bullying stories are often missing key information, which can lead to misrepresentation of the facts. And, news stories may not be an indication of a trend--journalists are often reporting local incidents.

In light of recent news coverage, it is important to revisit what science has shown regarding bullying, how to prevent it, the impact it has on those who... Continue Reading

All children deserve a chance—a chance to be safe, to be educated and to be themselves. Too often, this chance is denied to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning/queer, intersex, gender nonconforming (LGBTQI-GNC) and Two-Spirit* youth. Many of these youth are rejected by their families and bullied by their peers. The lack of familial and peer support can lead LGBTQI-GNC youth into the juvenile justice system, where they may also face abuse or harassment.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is the only federal agency focused solely on the needs of youth in the juvenile justice system—and that includes LGBTQI-GNC and Two-Spirit youth. We must acknowledge the challenges that this youth population faces every day and the opportunities that we all have to help them succeed.... Continue Reading

Schools across the U.S. frequently confront the issue of bullying among their student population. However, identifying the nature of a specific bullying problem (including its symptoms and causes) in a given school—and implementing solutions that work—is complicated. While research on evidence-based programs is helpful in guiding school personnel toward solutions that have been shown to work in the past, it sheds little light on how those programs or practices were implemented in schools or on the institutional processes, faculty and student body characteristics that made them work.

The new School-based Bullying Prevention I-Guide (short for implementation Guide) from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention aims to fill that gap. The newest feature of OJJDP’s... Continue Reading

Every other year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) administers the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) in high schools across the U.S. In the 2015 survey, two items were included to capture sexual orientation - self-reported sexual identity and the sex of sexual contacts. The results, found here, provide current national estimates of the percentage of high school students who are gay, lesbian, and bisexual or are not sure of their sexual identity and the percentage of high school students who have had sexual contact with only the same sex or with both sexes. In addition, the publication provides estimates of many health-related behaviors by sexual identity and sex of sexual contacts.

Nationwide, 89% of high school students identified as heterosexual, 2% identified as gay or lesbian, 6% identified as bisexual, and 3% were not sure of their sexual identity. Approximately 19% and 14% of heterosexual students had... Continue Reading

Bullying is a big problem for many children and teens, and especially for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students. 

Data from the 2015 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) show that in the year before the survey:

34% of lesbian, gay and bisexual students were bullied on school property 28% of lesbian, gay and bisexual students were electronically bullied, and 13% of lesbian, gay and bisexual students did not go to school because of safety concerns.

While nationally representative data are not yet available based on gender identity, we know that transgender youth often suffer even higher levels of bullying and violence than their non-transgender peers.

For all groups, bullying is linked to poor outcomes, including poor mental health, substance use, suicide, and academic problems. A... Continue Reading

For the Navajo people, the concept of K’e, or kinship, is one of the most fundamental lessons taught to every child. This begins with the child learning their four inherited clans, which connects them to extended families within the tribal nation. The child is then taught what to call those with whom they share a clan—strangers may acquire titles such as mother or brother through this system—, and the specific set of mutual responsibilities that accompany these terms. To demonstrate the importance of having a positive, inclusive community during National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, StopBullying.Gov is honored to share the experiences of Sam Slater, a member of the Navajo Nation.

“Growing up, this was the most powerful anti-bullying tool in my belt. K’e demonstrated for me how to treat everyone like a relative. This meant understanding my role in helping and learning from other people. We raise one another up and value the individuality of our collective voice, further extending these teachings into a compassionate community and beyond.

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School-based bullying has decreased for the first time since data have been collected, which is very encouraging. Yet, certain groups of youth may be at greater risk for bullying due to a perceived power imbalance. During bullying prevention awareness month, we featured the voices of some of these youth including those who:

Are Muslim, Arab, Sikh, and South Asian Are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Questioning/Queer (LGBTQ) Are Native American/American Indian Have disabilities... Continue Reading

This month, the world comes together to raise awareness for bullying prevention and to reflect on where we have been, where we are now, and where we hope to be in the years to come. This year’s Bullying Prevention Awareness Month marks the 10th anniversary of its initiation by PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center. Since 2006, the event has grown to an entire month of education and awareness activities, and is being recognized by schools and communities throughout the world.

This month serves as a reminder that bullying prevention must be addressed,... Continue Reading