By Priya Parkash, YES 2014-2015, Pakistan, hosted by AFS in Camarillo, CA

“Children should be able to live a life free from bullying and harassment and it is time that we all took a stand against this.”--- Katherine Jenkins

I have always been passionate about the issue of bullying. I think it’s safe to say that a majority of us have either been victims of bullying or have witnessed acts of bullying at some point in our lives. Bullying is violence and it would be wrong to dismiss it as anything else. Studies reveal that bullying by peers leads to a greater risk of mental health problems, such as low self-esteem, stress, depression, or anxiety. Several glaring statistics have shed light upon the severity of the issue: ‘Almost one out of every four students (22%) report being bullied during the school year’ (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2015) and ‘every 7 minutes a child is bullied and adult intervention levels at 4%, peer intervention at 11% and no intervention triumphs 85% of the time.'

In light of this issue, I executed the ‘YES Anti-Bullying Campaign’ to encourage students to take a stand, break the silence, and end bullying. On January 5, 2017, the YES Anti-Bullying Campaign worked with 50 elementary school students at a school in Karachi. Through empowerment workshops, the campaign educated the students about how to refrain from bullying, how to walk away as a victim, and how to practice peer intervention. 

“DON’T be a BULLY", "STOP. Think. Breathe", "SPEAK UP", and “BE MORE THAN A BYSTANDER, BE A FRIEND" were key messages that were used to promote positive student behavior, mutual respect, and strategies for preventing and reporting bullying in schools. The students participated in various hands-on activities, group discussions, and creative brainstorming sessions. They designed posters depicting their personal views of bullying. The workshops promoted awareness about bullying and even empowered the students to develop and sign an anti-bullying contract as a class. In the contract, they promised not to bully, not to support bullying, and to report acts of bullying. This contract was not just a reflection of their unity in eradicating this issue, but was also a measure of the campaign's success. 

To conclude the workshop, students wrote down what they learned from the workshop and pasted it on a poster-board, before having a final group reflection. This workshop was a small but significant contributor to the fight against bullying and I, as a part of YES Alumni Pakistan, plan to continue the movement by conducting similar workshops in other schools. Bullying is wrong and it's about time we all take a stand to end bullying!

Check out #TakeaStand and #YESalumni on Twitter for more highlights.