Should Bullies be Held Legally Responsible?

Introduction

Bullying is a very inhuman act which tends to leave the subject in a very bad situation, and could also lead to serious life complications in one’s life. Most people are usually bullied either by their peers, guardians or otherwise people whom they are very close to. In most cases, when a person is bullied, he or she may not be able to forward the matter to the relevant authorities, mainly because of the fear that he or she might not be helped. This consequently makes one to suffer both physically and emotionally, simply because, he or she cannot be able to get out of that situation. This paper is therefore going to talk about the drawbacks of bullying, hence providing the consequences of bullying and how to prevent bullying legally.

According to a research conducted early this year, it is estimated that over 80% of the teenagers in the country have been victims of bullying. This is mainly because, bullying is conducted in different ways and areas. Schools and the social media have been the main sources of bullying, since most teenagers are easily bullied by others. In schools, older teenagers tend to bully young teenagers in order to make them to submit to them and thus enjoying certain favors. Moreover, most of the victims of bullying have admitted to doing exactly what they were asked to do by their bullies. Victims cannot therefore be able to live their lives peacefully, simply because of the fear of being bullied again (Ramage, 62). These students cannot therefore be able to concentrate on class work, thus they end up getting very low grades. On the other hand, they also experience nightmares, which tends to affect their and in the end they may end up conducting stories associated diseases such as high blood pressure (Garby, 21). They lose concentration, and they are very likely to abuse drugs in order to forget their past experiences. Most of the students who have been victims of bullying, have ended up abusing drugs, in order to gain the courage and confidence to be able to carry on with their daily school activities. In addition, the victims cannot also be able to trust other people easily, and they consequently end up lack trust in other people due to the fear of being bullied or being hurt emotionally. Bullies also experience different problems, and this includes chances of dropping out of school, insecurities and indulging in frequent fights. I therefore urge all school heads, to take the right measures in measures in ensuring that students who bully others are expelled from school.

The social media has also been another source of bullying, and this type of bullying is often regarded to as cyber bullying. Teenagers are usually bullied in the social media, mainly because it is very easy for a bully to get away with it. This has therefore seen a large of teenagers using the social media being bullied over and over again. At least 34% between the ages of 13 years to 17 years, have been affected by cyber bullying, which is mainly done through instant messages, chat5 rooms, and social networking websites such as Facebook, instagram, Whatsapp, and Snap Chat (Garby, 23). Cyber bullying has become very common and thus making the number of teenagers being bullied to be on the rise. Most of the victims of cyber bullying tend to experience changes in their sleeping and eating patterns (Hann, Gayle, & Caroline, 45). This consequently affects their body functioning, and they may therefore end up in committing suicide or otherwise indulge in the abuse of drugs. Furthermore, they also experienced sadness and loneliness, which leads to depression due to the thoughts that they have on their minds. Low self-esteem is also another problem associated with cyber bullying, and the victims end up copying other people in order to look or become appealing before others. In future, these victims experience different problems, and they are also likely to indulge in frequent fights with either their family members or otherwise their spouses. In order to be able to gain courage and to live peacefully, they develop a defensive mechanism which makes them very temperamental, thus easy to anger. I believe, that if teenagers are advised on how to deal with cyber bullying, then they can be able to avoid being bullied and thus lead their lives peacefully. In addition, social media sites should be fitted with buttons to filter cyber bullying (Ramage, 75).

This matter has very serious implications on a person’s life, and it can affect a person for the rest of his life. In most cases, parents who were bullied while young either by cyber bullying, being bullied in schools or at home, may end up having poor parental habits (Hann, Gayle, & Caroline, 46). They cannot be able to provide the best parental care to their children due to the fear and insecurities surrounding them. Moreover, they also lack the techniques of showing love and care to their children, and this is majorly influenced by the feeling of loneliness that they have always had while young. Due to feeling lonely, these parents being detached from their families and thus they may end up spending most of their time thinking on other things and not their families. On the other hand, bullies also face different problems in both their childhood and adulthood lives, and this includes the following. Indulging in the abuse of drugs and alcohol, in order to be able to forget his or her worries. The abuse of drugs and alcohol consequently leads to addiction, and one cannot therefore be able to carry out his or her duties (Garby, 24). Secondly, they also indulge in sexual practices when in adolescents’ stage. Indulging in sexual practices mainly leads to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases which really affects their lives, and some end up dropping out of school. Moreover, others end up being pregnant which becomes a problem particularly when one is still a teenager and in school. Finally, they end up becoming abusive to their family members or spouses, thus making it hard for them to be able to live peacefully with others.

When teenagers are being bullied, they often prefer to tell their parents about the matter, that is if they are being bullied in school or otherwise through cyber bullying. If a teenager is being bullied and reports the matter to his or her parent, then this is what the parent should do. Listen to the victim carefully, and try to find out where the child went wrong. Speak to the child and ask him or her how he or she feels about school life. Then give her maximum support that you are going to stand with him or her (Ramage, 76). Finally, think of how you will approach the disciplinary master in the school. Report the matter and make sure that the child is not subjected to bullying anymore. On the other hand, if a child is a victim of cyber bullying, the parent should make sure that he or she saves each and every message. Gather as much information as possible concerning the bully, this includes the date of birth and where one lives. Allow the bully to continue with this habit for some time in order to collect the right information, after which report the matter to the police. Referring the matter to the police will help in getting IP address of the bully (Hann, Gayle, & Caroline, 46). Thus the bully will be arrested and taken to the court of law where he or she will be charged.

Conclusion

Teenagers often perform poorly in their school work, thus affecting their future lives, since they cannot be able to reach their future goals. Moreover, due to the problems that they face while young, they end up lacking the best techniques of raising up their children. Their lives therefore become unbearable since they cannot be able to get over what they passed through while they were young. They start abusing drugs which helps them to forget about their problems, and before they realize it, they become drug addicts. Therefore, parents should follow the approaches provided in order to make sure that their children do not end up being bullied. Through doing so, the future of their children will be guaranteed, and children will also perform well in their studies.

Work Cited

Ramage, John D. Writing Arguments: A Rhetoric with Readings, Mla Update Edition. Place of publication not identified: Longman, 2016. Print.

Garby, Lisa. "Direct bullying: criminal act or mimicking what has been learned?" Education 133.4 (2013): 448+. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.

"How Should Online Bullying Be Prosecuted?" All Things Considered 21 May 2012. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.

Hann, Gayle, and Caroline Fertleman. The Child Protection Practice Manual: Training Practitioners How to Safeguard Children. , 2016. Internet resource.