With schools closed for most children, you might think that tackling bullying is an area of work that many have put to the back of their minds. In fact, quite the opposite. Since lockdown started, we have seen an enormous surge in interest in anti-bullying work. Traffic to the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) website and use of our All Together online training has increased ten-fold.
This is heartening to see. Although young people may be experiencing a reprieve from some forms of bullying while schools are closed, we need to be alert to the fact that there are still risks that are heightened during the crisis. There is evidence of increases in online bullying and sibling bullying at this time. Looking ahead, we must also anticipate that as schools gradually return to full capacity, there may be new issues around bullying to face. We know that the recent Ebola crisis had a knock-on effect on school bullying, particularly of bereaved children and children whose families were affected.
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