BeatBullying

Last updated

BeatBullying
Founded1999
FounderEmma-Jane Cross
Key people
Emma-Jane Cross
AffiliationsAnti-Bullying Alliance
Website Archived October 11, 2014, at the Wayback Machine

BeatBullying was an international charity aiming to empower young people to lead anti-bullying campaigns in their schools and local communities, and to build the capacity of local communities to sustain the work. BeatBullying devised bullying prevention strategies for young people by young people, focusing on "peer to peer" education and empowering young people to take action against incidents of bullying [1] and help others combat the problem, both online and off. [2]

Contents

In schools where BeatBullying has worked, their internal evaluation suggests that incidents of bullying have been reduced by an average of 39%. [3]

BeatBullying suspended services in October 2014. [4]

History

BeatBullying was established in 1999 by its current CEO Emma-Jane Cross and became a registered charity in 2002. [5] In 2009 it launched the Beatbullying website, an online peer mentoring service for 11- to 18-year-olds delivered via a social networking site. BeatBullying has worked directly and indirectly with 700,000+ young people over the last five years across the UK. [2] 2013 saw the launch of MindFull, a mental health support site offering free counseling and peer support to people aged 11–17. [6]

In October 2014, BeatBullying and MindFull suspended services and were placed in administration due to financial difficulties. [4]

Activities

BeatBullying used a range of techniques to deliver its bullying prevention model and engage with young people. As well as the core BB Mentoring that took place in schools, the charity provided an online social networking and mentoring service through the www.beatbullying.org website where young people mentored other young people about bullying and issues surrounding bullying and had access to specialist counsellors online.

Campaigns and policy work

BeatBullying campaigned to shape attitudes and change behaviour relative both to on and offline bullying. It ran regular media campaigns including "The Big March", a digital demonstration where instead of streets, the public was invited to sign up, create their own BeatBullying Big March avatar and march across global websites for the right of children and young people across the world to be able to live without fear of bullying and cyberbullying. The march was to end with BeatBullying delivering an e-petition to the European Commission, both online, and in Brussels. In 2014, The Big March was supported and joined by celebrities like Aston Merrygold, Little Mix and Jamie Laing from Made in Chelsea.

“click bullying into touch” was a campaign in conjunction with the now-defunct British tabloid newspaper, News of the World.

BeatBullying also worked with government and industry groups via taskforces such as UKCCIS to advise on bullying and to encourage changes in industry practice.


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beat (charity)</span> Charity in United Kingdom

Beat is the UK's leading charity supporting those affected by eating disorders and campaigning on their behalf. Founded in 1989 as the Eating Disorders Association, it celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince's Trust</span> United Kingdom-based charity

The Prince's Trust is a United Kingdom-based charity founded in 1976 by King Charles III to help vulnerable young people get their lives on track. It supports 11-to-30-year-olds who are unemployed or struggling at school and at risk of exclusion. Many of the young people helped by the trust face issues such as homelessness, disability, mental health problems, or trouble with the law.

Peer support occurs when people provide knowledge, experience, emotional, social or practical help to each other. It commonly refers to an initiative consisting of trained supporters, and can take a number of forms such as peer mentoring, reflective listening, or counseling. Peer support is also used to refer to initiatives where colleagues, members of self-help organizations and others meet, in person or online, as equals to give each other connection and support on a reciprocal basis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Educational Action Challenging Homophobia</span> LGBT charity in the UK

Educational Action Challenging Homophobia (EACH) is a charity based in the United Kingdom which "affirms the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people and reduces discrimination experienced because of sexual orientation or gender identity." Since 2003, EACH has delivered training and consultancy services on sexuality and gender identity matters across the statutory, voluntary and private sectors. It also provides support to those affected by homophobic, biphobic or transphobic bullying through its nationwide, freephone helpline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kely Support Group</span>

KELY Support Group is a non-governmental bilingual organisation in Hong Kong which aims to provide support to youth between the ages of 14 and 24. Its programmes and services focus on prevention and intervention of alcoholism and other drug abuse, and are designed to tackle what the group regards as the common reasons for abuse such as boredom, peer pressure, lack of self-awareness, low self-esteem, poverty, unemployment and discrimination.

The Youth Empowerment Scheme, or YES, was a charity in Belfast that offered a mentoring service to children between 11 and 14 years old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MENTOR</span> Nonprofit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts

MENTOR was founded to expand opportunity for young people by building a youth mentoring field and movement in the United States. Since its founding, there has been a more than 10x increase in young people in structured mentoring relationships, from hundreds of thousands to millions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">School bullying</span> Type of bullying in an educational setting

School bullying, like bullying outside the school context, refers to one or more perpetrators who have greater physical strength or more social power than their victim and who repeatedly act aggressively toward their victim. Bullying can be verbal or physical. Bullying, with its ongoing character, is distinct from one-off types of peer conflict. Different types of school bullying include ongoing physical, emotional, and/or verbal aggression. Cyberbullying and sexual bullying are also types of bullying. Bullying even exists in higher education. There are warning signs that suggest that a child is being bullied, a child is acting as a bully, or a child has witnessed bullying at school.

Jackson T. Katz is an American educator, filmmaker, and author. He has created a gender violence prevention and education program entitled 'Mentors in Violence Prevention', which is used by U.S. military and various sporting organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kidscape</span> British child safety organization

Kidscape is a London-based charity established in 1985, by child psychologist Michele Elliott. Its focus is on children's safety, with an emphasis on the prevention of harm by equipping children with techniques and mindsets that help them stay safe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Message Trust</span> UK Christian charity organization

The Message Trust is a Christian charity working to improve the lives of people in the UK and beyond through work in schools, prisons and communities.

Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower International, commonly shortened to Kidpower, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit child safety organization teaching child protection and personal safety skills to adults and children to prevent bullying, abuse, abduction, and other violence. Kidpower was founded in 1989 in Santa Cruz, California, and has ten locations in the U.S. and 20 in other countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stand Against Violence</span> British charity

Stand Against Violence is a charity focusing on violence prevention across England and Wales with a unique and impacting approach to educate pupils about violence and its consequences. The charity uses the violence prevention evidence base to target educational interventions at the contributing factors to violence.

Cyberbullying is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. It has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers and adolescents, due to young people's increased use of social media. Related issues include online harassment and trolling. In 2015, according to cyberbullying statistics from the i-Safe Foundation, over half of adolescents and teens had been bullied online, and about the same number had engaged in cyberbullying. Both the bully and the victim are negatively affected, and the intensity, duration, and frequency of bullying are three aspects that increase the negative effects on both of them.

Born This Way Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 2012 by American artist and activist Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta. Named after the singer's 2011 album Born This Way, and the song with the same name the foundation is committed to supporting the wellness of young people and working with them to "make the world kinder and braver".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Cybersmile Foundation</span> Anti-cyberbullying organization

The Cybersmile Foundation is an international nonprofit organization committed to tackling all forms of cyberbullying and digital abuse. They promote kindness, diversity, and inclusion through professional support services, education programs, awareness campaigns and corporate partnerships.

Anna Kennedy is a disability/ neurodiversity campaigner who has worked to provide improved education and other services and support for children and adults described as being on the autism spectrum as well as other neurodiverse conditions. In pursuing these activities she has helped establish two schools, a college, a respite home and a website with over 100,000 international followers.

CyberMentors was an online peer mentoring service for children and young people aged 11–18, delivered through a social networking site at cybermentors.org.uk. CyberMentors was delivered by the UK charity Beatbullying. CyberMentors was rebranded to be known as BeatBullying Mentors however the service now seems to have disappeared all together with the beatbullying domain now redirecting to a premium online therapy company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bystander Revolution</span> Anti-bullying organization

Bystander Revolution is an anti-bullying organization founded in 2014 by billionaire and author MacKenzie Scott, which offers advice about things individuals can do to defuse bullying. Its website includes hundreds of unscripted videos of people talking about their personal experiences with bullying.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donorbox</span> American crowdfunding platform

Donorbox is a technology company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Established in 2014, the company provides an online fundraising platform enabling individuals and nonprofit organizations to facilitate online donations. The platform is utilized by various types of organizations, including charities, religious institutions, schools, animal welfare groups, political campaigns, among others.

References

  1. bullying statistics
  2. 1 2 "About BeatBullying" . Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  3. "Stitch in Time" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-06-01.
  4. 1 2 Dearden, Lizzie (22 October 2014). "BeatBullying UK and MindFull charities suspend services as administrators called in". The Independent. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  5. "About BeatBullying - Our results" . Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  6. "MindFull - MindFull". Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2013-08-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)