Considerations

We the participants at the Joint Efforts Against Victimization Conference in Kandersteg/Switzerland in June 8th to 10th, 2007 pledge our long term commitment and determination to promote healthy relationships and prevent bullying and victimization in children and youth.

• Today, an estimated 200 million children and youth around the world are being abused bytheir peers.

• Every child and youth has the right to be respected and safe. Bullying is a violation of thisbasic human right.

• It is the moral responsibility of adults to ensure these rights are honored and that healthydevelopment and citizenship are promoted. Many adults want more understanding andstrategies to address bullying problems effectively.

• Bullying is a form of aggression, involving the abuse of power in relationships. It is recognizedglobally as a complex and serious problem. It has many faces, including the use of emergingtechnologies, and varies by age, gender, and culture.

• Children and youth involved in bullying suffer. Bullying and victimization problems begin earlyin life and for some last a lifetime.

• Many risk and protective factors associated with bullying are known and preventionprograms are being implemented in several countries with encouraging results.

• The mental and physical health, social, and academic consequences of bullying have anenormous impact on human and social capital. The costs of bullying burden our education,health care, social services, and criminal justice systems, as well as work force productivityand innovation.

• Bullying concerns and affects us all.

 

Actions to be taken:

• Stop bullying now in all the places where children and youth live, work, and play.
• Start prevention efforts early and continue these through childhood and adolescence,targeting known risk and protective factors and promoting healthy relationships.

• Educate and empower all adults involved with children and youth to promote healthyrelationships and prevent bullying.

• Use policy and prevention programs, based on scientific research, that are appropriate forage, gender, and culture, and that involve families, peers, schools, and communities.

• Provide ongoing assessment and monitoring necessary to evaluate the success of policy and programs and to guarantee the rights of children and youth.

Almeida, Ana Maria, University of Minho, Portugal anatalmeida@gmail.com
Alsaker, Françoise D., University of Berne, Switzerland francoise.alsaker@psy.unibe.ch
Boivin, Michel, Université de Laval, Canada michel.boivin@psy.ulaval.ca
Brendgen, Mara, l`Univesité du Québec à Montréal, Canada brendgen.mara@uquam.ca
Clémence, Alain, University of Lausanne, Switzerland alain.clemence@unil.ch
Craig, Wendy, Queen’s University, Canada craigw@post.queensu.ca
Cross, Donna, Edith Cowan University, Australia d.cross@ecu.edu.au
Flammer, August, University of Berne, Switzerland august.flammer@psy.unibe.ch
Gutzwiller, Evelyne, University of Lucerne, Switzerland eveline.gutzwiller@phz.ch
Hymel, Shelley, University of British Columbia, Canada shelley.hymel@ubc.ca
Kwak, Keumjoo, Seoul National University, South Korea kjkwak@snu.ac.kr
Ladd, Gary, Arizona State University, USA gary.ladd@asu.edu
Lauper, Dorothee, University of Berne, Switzerland dorothee.lauper@psy.unibe.ch
Menesini, Ersilia University of Florence, Italy menesini@psico.unifi.it
Nägele, Christof, Federal Institute of Vocational Training, Switzerland christof.naegele@ehb-schweiz.ch
Ortega Ruiz, Rosario, University of Cordoba, Spain ed1orrur@uco.es
Pepler, Debra, York University, Canada pepler@yorku.ca
Perren, Sonja, University of Zurich, Switzerland perren@jacobscenter.unizh.ch
Roland, Erling, University of Stavanger, Norway erling.roland@uis.no
Salmivalli, Christina, University of Turku, Finland tiina.salmivalli@utu.fi
Smith, Peter, University of London, UK pss01pks@gold.ac.uk
Spiel, Christiane, University of Vienna, Austria christiane.spiel@univie.ac.at
Strohmeier, Dagmar, University of Vienna, Austria dagmar.strohmeier@univie.ac.at
Vaillancourt, Tracy, McMaster University, Canada vaillat@mcmaster.ca
Valkanover, Stefan, University of Berne, Switzerland stefan.valkanover@ispw.unibe.ch
Veenstra, René, University of Groningen, Netherlands d.r.veenstra@rug.nl