Bullying Increasingly Seen As A Public Health Issue And Declaration Of Rights Of The Child

"sage: My initial reaction to reading Story 1 was "Duh! It's about time." Now let's do something about it. Attached as Story 2 is the Universal Declaration of Rights of the Child as mandated by the UN." STORY 1 - BULLYING INCREASINGLY SEEN AS A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE Huffington Post - November 8, 2013 http://tinyurl.com/oxmmyq5 By Michael Dhar, Contributing writer, Published originally on LiveScience Awareness of bullying has grown in recent years. But while the common images of bullying - kids shoved against lockers, and "mean girls" slinging gossip - emphasize bullying as a social ill, medical professionals increasingly see bullying as a public health issue. Dr. Jorge Srabstein, medical director of the Clinic for Health Problems Related to Bullying at the Children's National Medical Center (CNMC), has long emphasized bullying's very real physical and psychological health effects. "Bullying is linked to a wide range of health issues, both physical and emotional symptoms," said Srabstein, who has both studied the issue and treated thousands of children in his practice. Bullying affects "kids involved in bullying as victims, or as perpetrators, or as both," Srabstein said. Those bullied and their bullies alike complain of headaches and stomachaches, have difficulty falling asleep and fall victim to psychological symptoms, most notably depression and "very significant anxiety," Srabstein said. Interestingly, symptoms associated with bullying tend to appear in a cluster - that is, people affected by bullying don't often only get headaches. Instead, they get headaches accompanied by anxiety, stomachaches and depression, Srabstein said. This clustering grants the appearance of a medical syndrome, Srabstein said, though there's not yet enough evidence to declare a "bullying syndrome." CNMC estimates 10 percent of U.S. children suffer this cluster of symptoms. Between 1 in 3 to 1 in 4 U.S. students report being bullied, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. [10 Scientific Tips for Raising Happy Kids] "A public health issue" That cluster of symptoms has caught the attention of public health officials, physicians and other health care providers, said Julia Hertzog, director of the PACER National Bullying Prevention Center. Her organization, which advocates for children with disabilities, has received an increasing number of requests to educate health providers on recognizing, treating and preventing bullying, she said. Health professionals can help in the fight against bullying in three main ways, Srabstein said: First, by contributing to community and school programs to increase awareness of bullying, thus promoting a more respectful environment. Such programs have too often left out public health officials, Srabstein wrote in a WHO statement. But these programs, while essential, can only cut bullying behavior by about 40 percent, so health professionals must contribute in a second way: identifying bullying when it happens, Srabstein said. (Some studies show more modest effects for certain programs.) PACER helps hospitals and clinics incorporate bullying-related inquiries into their standard sets of health questions. Doctors might, for instance, routinely ask children if they feel safe at school. Providers should share any evidence of bullying with parents, and suggest raising the issue with the school, Hertzog said. Srabstein likens this medical campaign to historical examples of public health monitoring. "In the same way that schools have had to identify public health issues like the measles or curvature of the spine," schools and doctors need to work together to find signs of bullying, he said. "Treating bullied kids" But even public-health vigilance won't eliminate all cases of bullying, so health officials must make their third contribution, Srabstein said: treating the symptoms of bullying. That means addressing headaches and stomachaches, but also the depression and anxiety that bullying entails. Psychological problems are particularly important, as victims and perpetrators alike face higher risks of self-harm, substance abuse and suicide, Srabstein said. A Yale study showed that bullying victims are two to nine times more likely to report thoughts of suicide compared with children who haven't been bullied. "They are at a significant risk of hurting themselves," Srabstein said. "So, bullying is highly associated with suicide risk." Reports and studies on bullying have increased over the last two decades, Hertzog said. The just-completed National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, created in 2006 by PACER, received White House support at the end of October. The ongoing, increased attention for bullying should bring better understanding of the issue, too, Srabstein said. Both health professionals and the general public need to recognize that bullying can affect many different segments of society, not only students, he said. "It's not an issue that just pertains to children in school," Srabstein said. Bullying can also affect children in the home, adolescents in relationships and even adults in the workplace, he said. "Bullying is a multifaceted form of maltreatment... It occurs across the world and across different social settings." For advice on preventing bullying, recognizing the signs and responding to cases of such maltreatment, visit CNMC's fact sheet or the Department of Health's bullying site.STORY 2 - UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/humanrights/resources/child.asp Adopted by UN General Assembly Resolution 1386 (XIV) of 10 December 1959 WHEREAS the peoples of the United Nations have, in the Charter, reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights and in the dignity and worth of the human person, and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, WHEREAS the United Nations has, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, WHEREAS the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth, WHEREAS the need for such special safeguards has been stated in the Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child of 1924, and recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the statutes of specialized agencies and international organizations concerned with the welfare of children, WHEREAS mankind owes to the child the best it has to give, Now, therefore, Proclaims THIS DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD to the end that he may have a happy childhood and enjoy for his own good and for the good of society the rights and freedoms herein set forth, and calls upon parents, upon men and women as individuals, and upon voluntary organizations, local authorities and national Governments to recognize these rights and strive for their observance by legislative and other measures progressively taken in accordance with the following principles: 1 The child shall enjoy all the rights set forth in this Declaration. Every child, without any exception whatsoever, shall be entitled to these rights, without distinction or discrimination on account of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, whether of himself or of his family. 2 The child shall enjoy special protection, and shall be given opportunities and facilities, by law and by other means, to enable him to develop physically, mentally, morally, spiritually and socially in a healthy and normal manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity. In the enactment of laws for this purpose, the best interests of the child shall be the paramount consideration. 3 The child shall be entitled from his birth to a name and a nationality. 4 The child shall enjoy the benefits of social security. He shall be entitled to grow and develop in health; to this end, special care and protection shall be provided both to him and to his mother, including adequate pre-natal and post-natal care. The child shall have the right to adequate nutrition, housing, recreation and medical services. 5 The child who is physically, mentally or socially handicapped shall be given the special treatment, education and care required by his particular condition. 6 The child, for the full and harmonious development of his personality, needs love and understanding. He shall, wherever possible, grow up in the care and under the responsibility of his parents, and, in any case, in an atmosphere of affection and of moral and material security; a child of tender years shall not, save in exceptional circumstances, be separated from his mother. Society and the public authorities shall have the duty to extend particular care to children without a family and to those without adequate means of support. Payment of State and other assistance towards the maintenance of children of large families is desirable. 7 The child is entitled to receive education, which shall be free and compulsory, at least in the elementary stages. He shall be given an education which will promote his general culture and enable him, on a basis of equal opportunity, to develop his abilities, his individual judgement, and his sense of moral and social responsibility, and to become a useful member of society. The best interests of the child shall be the guiding principle of those responsible for his education and guidance; that responsibility lies in the first place with his parents. The child shall have full opportunity for play and recreation, which should be directed to the same purposes as education; society and the public authorities shall endeavour to promote the enjoyment of this right. 8 The child shall in all circumstances be among the first to receive protection and relief. 9 The child shall be protected against all forms of neglect, cruelty and exploitation. He shall not be the subject of traffic, in any form. The child shall not be admitted to employment before an appropriate minimum age; he shall in no case be caused or permitted to engage in any occupation or employment which would prejudice his health or education, or interfere with his physical, mental or moral development. 10 The child shall be protected from practices which may foster racial, religious and any other form of discrimination. He shall be brought up in a spirit of understanding, tolerance, friendship among peoples, peace and universal brotherhood, and in full consciousness that his energy and talents should be devoted to the service of his fellow men. RELATED STORIES * Marvel Comics Debuts Female Muslim Superhero * Anonymous Demonstrators Descend on Buckingham Palace * Our New Age of Intention and Action