A World Without Bullying
By Judy French, Coordinator, PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center Los Angeles
Can you imagine that we could create a world without bullying? At PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center, founded in 2006, we work every day to lead social change to prevent childhood bullying. We want all youth to be safe and supported in their schools, communities and online.
Our Los Angeles area office came to the Community Conscience building in 2017. This wonderful home base in Thousand Oaks has helped us reach approximately 10,000 people over the past year alone through parent, faculty/staff and student presentations, individual assistance, resource fairs, and materials dissemination.
While currently about 1 in 5 students will report that they have been bullied during the school year, we know that many children never speak about the bullying they are experiencing. PACER educates students and adults to advocate for themselves and others in order to navigate a bullying situation. More importantly, we actively promote the behaviors that create healthier communities overall: kindness, acceptance, and inclusion. We know now that when adults model these behaviors for children and children practice them with their peers, bullying has a harder time taking hold.
In schools from Ventura to South Central Los Angeles, in health organizations and community groups, our staff in Southern California bring innovative resources for students, parents, educators, and others. Please visit PACER’s National Bullying Prevention websites: pacer.org/bullying, pacerkidsagainstbullying.org, and pacerteensagainstbullying.org to learn more about what you can do to create a world without bullying.