"RISE IN BULLYING CAUSE FOR GREAT CONCERN" - MULHOLLAND
August 29, 2006 12:00 AM
Greg Mulholland, MP for Leeds North West and Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Schools, has said that the apparent rise in bullying, particularly homophobic bullying, which has been reported by children's charity Childline is a cause for great concern.
Childline has revealed there had been a significant rise in the numbers of children calling the charity over the past year, from 32,500 to 37,000 a rise of 4500, and that bullying was the most common reason why these children were seeking help. Further, findings by illustrate that calls from children about homophobic bullying had increased significantly in recent years and now formed a significant and growing portion of the calls received.
Commenting Greg said:
"It is very alarming that the numbers of children who are worried about bullying appears to be growing.
These findings show that many children are worried about going back to school in September because of fear of what they face when they get there. Homophobic bullying in particular, as Childline has illustrated, is becoming an increasingly bigger problem. It is clear that much, much, more effort must be made to tackle the problem of bullying, schools, teachers and the Government need address this issue head on.
It is precisely for this reason that I, and my Liberal Democrat colleagues, launched our campaign to tackle homophobic bullying, and this issue will be one of the key points which I will be discussing at our party conference in September.
Bullying for whatever reason and by whatever means must be stopped. Children should be allowed to go school without fear of being picked on and isolated and it is our responsibility to ensure that this is the case."
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