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Do. Not. Bully. Me!

2020-3-MK01-KA105-0944762020Youth mobilityfinalized
Countries: MK|BE|BG|EL|IT|RS · Grant: €11,889
Inclusion - equityCreativity and culture

Objectives

Bullying is a hostile behaviour towards others expressed in a number of forms: physical, psychological, verbal, non-verbal, teasing (a combination of several forms), sexual, social, etc. A common misconception places bullying in the category of negative childish and adolescent behaviour, however, bullying goes further than that. Even among adults, there is bullying in a variety of forms, one of which is mobbing. In the past, bullying was not a topic explored as extensively since it was attributed to school life and a passing thing, but in the present-day world, bullying is a topic taken very seriously, so seriously that countries and the EU have devised entire strategies and support systems. This is the case because bullying goes against the principles of equality, inclusion and basic human rights of all the citizens of Europe. More importantly, bullying happens for a variety of psychological and emotional reasons and responses, and both the bullies and the bullied have permanent consequences in their life as adults as well which may be manifested as prolonged harassment, victimization, depression and even suicide. Education-wise, bullying affects the lives of students negatively and reports say that although there is not a single trend and a common manifestation or reasoning behind it, varying percentages of students are bullied on a daily basis, the majority have been bullied at least twice in every term, and there is a percentage of students who miss school for fear of bullying. The numbers vary depending on the country and the reasons for bullying, however, the trend is not subsiding and it is what pushed us to take action and do everything we can to counteract bullying. In North Macedonia, bullying has taken severe forms in past years. There have been cases where students have been molested on a daily basis leading up to their severe beating and ending up in hospitals, group fights between minority and majority groups, and the latest from overtaking the country was cyberbullying where young girls were sexually abused in groups on social media such as JAVNA SOBA. COVID-19 and the lockdown contributed to increased domestic violence and online bullying. Jasna Idnina decided to take action to raise awareness of the damaging long-term effects of bullying, and we also took measures to fight bullying in our local community by implementing activities for young people and talking with school staff about bullying prevention mechanisms. Bullying of any form is a huge setback to the EU not only because it demotes human rights and principles, but also because it hurts education in the long run. The fact that bullying is most expressed at school, and that it affects students directly (many of which decide to miss classes to avoid being bullied), hinders the realization of the 2030 Strategy and goes against Article 2 of the Treaty on the European Union. The objectives of the project were: - raising awareness, - promoting inclusion and ensuring that we raise healthy youths, who will become the future of the continent. - promoting artistic expression to denounce daily problems.

Project partners (6)