BATON ROUGE, LA – Today is National Stop Bullying Day, and Attorney General Jeff Landry is encouraging parents and students to Know More About Bullying so they can recognize and stop bullying in schools.
“From verbal attacks to physical attacks and social bullying to cyber bullying, these forms of hostile behavior harm kids emotionally and physically,” said Attorney General Landry. “Together, we can stop bullying in our schools and positively impact the lives of our students.”
Research shows that bullying significantly affects millions of students every day and can lead them to fear going to school. The action of bullying can affect any student but bullies mainly targets those who are more vulnerable, such as younger students. Some forms of bullying can be considered a crime. So Attorney General Landry is calling on Louisiana students and guardians to read his office’s “Know More About Bullying” booklet, available for free download here.
Attorney General
Landry is also offering the following tips to stop bullying and help victims:
- Speak
out and stand up
for those getting bullied. Do not be afraid to get involved and help those
being targeted.
- Report
it. If you see someone being
bullied, let those in authority know about it. If it is online harassment
– ignore the comments, block the person, and report the abuse to the
website where it is taking place.
- Walk
away. Keep a
cool head and don't respond in kind. Remove yourself from the situation if
someone is trying to hurt you.
- Ask
for help. Reach out
to your parents, teachers, friends or others who will support you.
- Do
not believe the insults.
You do not deserve to get picked on.
Additionally, Attorney
General Landry reminds everyone that cyber bullying is a crime. According to
Louisiana Law (La RS. 14:40.7): cyber bullying is the transmission of any
electronic textual, visual, or oral communication with the malicious and
willful intent to coerce, abuse, torment, or intimidate a person under the age
of eighteen. This behavior can lead to punishment from school authorities and
the police.