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By Serene Luo
A CHILD specialist embarking on a survey on bullying four years ago was horrified by its revelations.
About half of the 4,000 primary and secondary school children she and her team surveyed had been called names, laughed at, or teased.
More than a quarter had been pushed or hit, or had been sworn at or had rude signs made at them.
One particularly pathetic account was from a child whose birthday was marked by being kicked and punched by 30 people.
Another said it was her close friends, the people she trusted, who bullied her.
Galvanised by their stories, Ms Esther Ng decided to write a book exposing the extent of bullying - repeated, unprovoked, aggressive behaviour, causing harm or distress to someone - in schools, playgrounds, and even online.
The book, Breaking The Silence: Bullying In Singapore, co-edited by teacher-psychologist and adjunct professor at the University of South Australia, Dr Ken Rigby, will be launched today.
'What kept me going was the stories,' said Ms Ng, 46.
In 2005, the mother of two boys aged 19 and 20 founded the Coalition Against Bullying for Children and Youth (Cabcy), which tries to raise awareness about bullying and help its victims.
Though the stories are sobering, 'only numbers can really show that bullying exists and is real', said Ms Ng.
The 2006 survey, conducted by her team at the Harvest Centre for Research, Training and Development, a consultancy of which she is chief executive, showed that about 95per cent of the children surveyed had experienced bullying in one form or another and of varying severity.
A new and disturbing trend is cyberbullying, which takes the taunting and threats online via electronic platforms such as text messages or blogs.
Another study by her group of about 3,500 secondary school students aged 13 to 17 showed that 25per cent had experienced cyberbullying. More girls were cyberbullied than boys, the study found.
The Singapore numbers on cyberbullying are comparable to figures from countries like Australia and the United States.
Ms Ng hopes her book will inform parents, teachers and school administrations about bullying, and give them some tools to handle the problem. Schools run cyber-safety programmes, which often include a session on cyberbullying.
Mr Mani Joseph, assistant director of the Asian Women's Welfare Association Family Service Centre, said it was important for parents to raise the matter with schools if their children were bullied.
'Children who are victimised must know that if they don't report the matter, they are only helping the bully to do more harm,' he said.
Ms Jessica Leong, clinical director of the Executive Counselling and Training Academy, which trains counsellors, notes that the issue needs a multi-pronged approach, including infrastructure for reporting bullying, and counselling for the bullies, who themselves need help.
serl@sph.com.sg
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
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