AI aiming to Give Bullying the Boot
Aggregate Industries and Leicester Tigers provide a school of thought on cyberbullying
FOLLOWING on from the successful launch of their ‘Give Bullying the Boot’ campaign last November, Aggregate Industries and Leicester Tigers are continuing in their joint endeavour to help beat bullying in the Leicestershire region with a new focus on cyberbullying.
Over the course of February and through to the end of March 2018, representatives from the Leicester Tigers will be visiting numerous schools across Leicestershire to provide talks about cyberbullying, looking at the impact of technology and social media.
To date, the ‘Give Bullying the Boot’ campaign has reached out to 770 school children from nine schools and 29 classes across the Leicestershire region.
This activity follows research conducted by the two organizations which has revealed that a third (28%) of Leicestershire school children say social media has added extra pressure to look or act a certain way, for fear of being bullied.
Furthermore, over a fifth (22%) worry about being bullied online and a quarter (24%) have received negative comments on their social media channels. The same study has shown that more than half (53%) of school children in the region have suffered some form of bullying.
François Petry, chief executive officer of Aggregate Industries, commented: ‘Clearly, the Internet and social media have changed the way children experience bullying, providing an instantaneous, 24/7 avenue for bullying to take place – which, unfortunately, can be all too difficult to spot.
‘Whether in person, on a social media site, or through a mobile phone, the effects of any form of bullying can be devastating for the young person involved.
‘We hope this latest phase of our ‘Give Bullying the Boot’ campaign will, therefore, provide some helpful guidance around cyberbullying, providing any pupils who may be affected with the tools needed to take action and speak up.’
Chris Rose, head of brand at Leicester Tigers, added: ‘It was great to see the positive response we’ve had this year with the ‘Give Bullying the Boot’ campaign.
‘We felt it was important to continue to provide even more support for schools and pupils on the issue of cyberbullying and have linked up with our official charity partner, Warning Zone, to deliver some engaging sessions for the duration of the spring term.’
The ‘Give Bullying the Boot’ campaign forms part of the two organizations’ Concrete Rugby initiative, which champions a healthy lifestyle, teamwork and self-confidence in young people through the introduction of key rugby skills.
