1Designating the month of October 2013 as "Bullying Prevention
2Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania to help Pennsylvanians work
3to stop bullying, recognize bullying and gain the tools
4needed to appropriately deal with situations involving
5bullies.

6WHEREAS, A recent United States study shows that 17% of all
7students reported having been bullied "sometimes" or more often,
8this amounts to almost one-in-five students; and

9WHEREAS, The United States Department of Justice states that
1037% of all students do not feel safe at school; and

11WHEREAS, Bullying can be verbal, physical or via the Internet
12and can severely affect the victim's self-image, social
13interactions and school performance, often leading to
14insecurity, lack of self-esteem and depression in adulthood; and

15WHEREAS, School dropout rates and absences among victims of

1bullying are much higher than among other students; and

2WHEREAS, Studies have shown that children who have been
3identified as a bully by eight years of age are six times more
4likely to have a criminal conviction by 24 years of age; and

5WHEREAS, Children who are bullies may continue to be bullies
6as adults and are more prone to become child and spouse abusers;
7and

8WHEREAS, Information about bullying suggests that there are
9three interrelated reasons why students bully, including strong
10needs for power and dominance, satisfaction in causing injury
11and suffering to other students and reward for their behavior
12with material or psychological rewards; and

13WHEREAS, Bullying can take on many forms, including
14derogatory comments and bad names, social exclusion or
15isolation, hitting, kicking, shoving and spitting, lies and
16false rumors, having money or other things taken or damaged, 
17being threatened or being forced to do things and forms of
18racial, sexual and cyber bullying; and

19WHEREAS, Bullying is done by both girls and boys; and

20WHEREAS, At first glance, many people may think bullying
21behavior is easy to define as solely physical aggression, but,
22while that can still be considered bullying today, bullying
23behaviors can be much more complex and varied than the
24stereotype; and

25WHEREAS, Harmful bullying can occur quietly and covertly,
26through gossip or on the Internet, causing emotional damage; and

27WHEREAS, Although definitions vary from source to source,
28most agree that an act is defined as bullying when the behavior
29hurts or harms another person physically or emotionally and the
30targets have difficulty stopping the behavior directed at them

1and struggle to defend themselves; and

2WHEREAS, Many definitions include a statement about the
3"imbalance of power," described as when the student with the
4bullying behavior has more "power," either physically, socially
5or emotionally; and

6WHEREAS, Many definitions also include the types of bullying,
7including overt bullying, with physical behaviors, such as
8fighting, hitting or name calling, and covert bullying, with
9emotional-social interactions, such as gossiping or leaving
10someone out on purpose; and

11WHEREAS, When students experience bullying there are effects
12that can last long into their future, including depression, low
13self-esteem, health problems, poor grades and suicidal thoughts;
14and

15WHEREAS, It might be hard to tell the difference between
16playful teasing and bullying, but they are not the same thing;
17and

18WHEREAS, Teasing usually involves two or more friends who act
19together in a way that seems fun to all the people involved and
20they often tease each other equally, but it never involves
21physical or emotional abuse; and

22WHEREAS, It is also important to note that bullying is not
23just about the implications for those targeted by the behaviors,
24but that the behavior can impact all students in the school,
25including those who witness the behavior and those who engage in
26the behavior; and

27WHEREAS, Students who bully can have a wide-ranging impact on
28the students they bully, students who observe bullying and the
29overall climate of the school and community; and

30WHEREAS, When bullying continues and a school does not take

1action, the entire school climate can be affected in many ways,
2including the school developing an environment of fear and
3disrespect, students having difficulty learning, students
4feeling insecure, students disliking school and students
5perceiving that teachers and staff have little control and do
6not care about them; and

7WHEREAS, The Office for Civil Rights in the United States
8Department of Education and the United States Department of
9Justice have stated that bullying may also be considered
10harassment when it is based on a student's race, color, national
11origin, sex or disability; and

12WHEREAS, Harassing behaviors may include unwelcome conduct
13such as verbal abuse, including name calling, epithets, slurs,
14graphic or written statements, threats, physical assault or
15other conduct that may be physically threatening, harmful or
16humiliating; and

17WHEREAS, There is no Federal law that specifically applies to
18bullying, rather, when bullying is based on race, color,
19national origin, sex, disability or religion, bullying overlaps
20with harassment and schools are legally obligated to address it;
21and

22WHEREAS, Bullying Prevention Awareness Month is a month-long
23effort that encourages everyone to take an active role in the
24bullying prevention movement; therefore be it

25RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate the
26month of October 2013 as "Bullying Prevention Awareness Month"
27in Pennsylvania to help Pennsylvanians work to stop bullying,
28recognize bullying and gain the tools needed to appropriately
29deal with situations involving bullies.