Seattle University Collaborative Projects - International Academy of ...

In addition to their focus on general bullying, prevention efforts and legislation should require afocus on gender-based harassment and violence (i.e., sexual harassment and violence, datingviolence, harassment and violence associated with sexual orientation and/or gender-rolenonconformity).A Call for Public Health Policies for the Prevention of Bullying Related Healthand Safety RisksJorge Srabstein, Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA(jsrabste@cnmc.org)There is evolving evidence that bullying is a multifaceted and toxic form of maltreatment,prevalent across social settings, throughout the lifespan and around the world. People whoparticipate in bullying as victims, perpetrators and/or as bystanders are at significant risk ofsuffering from an array of health and safety problems and risks. Most of the legislative initiativesdeveloped around the world have placed the brunt of responsibility for its prevention oneducators and school administrators and have focused on penalties or consequences. Given thesignificant pyschobiosocial antecedents and consequences of bullying, as well as its public healthimplications, there is a need to advocate for the development of public policies that foster theprevention, detection and treatment of bullying related health problems, across social settings,throughout the lifespan and with whole community participation. This presentation will enableparticipants to: appreciate the developing understanding about the nature, ecology, prevalenceand morbidity of bullying; review the range of anti-bullying legislative initiatives enacted aroundthe world; advocate for the development of public policies for the prevention of bullying andrelated health risks, across social settings and along the lifespan, based on a three tier preventionmodel.Bullying and Suicide: Post Hoc Forensic EvaluationEileen Ryan, University of Virginia (er3h@virginia.edu)Bullying has become a recognized problem as evidenced by the surge in research on victims andperpetrators, as well as recent media attention in the US directed at high-profile cases of bullyingand harassment. Although this social phenomenon is identified in many settings, there is littleevidence-based support for successful interventions that generalize across cultures and settings.Interventions may target the bully, the target, and the system in which the bullying occurs.Traditional bullying behavior has moved into the arenas of technology and social networking.Suicide risk, as well as other psychological sequelae, may be increased for both victims andperpetrators. There are protective and risk factors that individuals or systems might possess withregard to bullying behavior and its effects. This presentation will address these issues andprovide a framework for evaluators to objectively examine behaviors in the context of53