“Girl Bullying”
A Study of Girls Experiences at a Co-educational Secondary School and Implications for Practice.
Lyndall Healey BSW, MSW (UNSW) Email: healeygreens@aapt.net.au
Belinda Lyons BSW (CSU) Email: stropper@mitmania.net.au
Aim of the project
gain a definition of what girls believe to be bullying behaviours. To find out what their experiences were of these behaviours. A rationale for these behaviours including intent & justification. Exploration of solutions.
To
Relational aggression
Relational aggression is behaviour that is used to manipulate and inflict harm on peer relationships (Crick and Grotpeter, 1995). The term “girl bullying” was used as the girls‟ could more readily identify with this term. Includes indirect forms of aggression (Bjorkqvist, Osterman & Kaukiainen, 1992).
Relational Aggression
How? ….by spreading rumours, name calling, writing notes, gossiping, giving death stares, bitching, deliberately ignoring or excluding, telling a girl not to associate with another girl, revealing secrets. It is covert in nature. It is more emotional. It is non-visual.
What are the girls experiences?
More
than 1 in 3 girls experienced these behaviours once a month. in 5 experienced these behaviours weekly. in 3 had experienced these behaviours once only.
1
1
What are the girls experiences?
26% reported first experiencing these behaviours before grade 3. 33% identified that a previous episode had damaged their relationships with other girls. 60% reported they had been recipients of some bullying behaviours (rumour spreading) yet only 30% were cognisant of their participation in such behaviour.
These points were noted for further exploration in the focus groups.
What‟s it all about?
of girls: nice girls don‟t act aggressively… “It‟s just the way girls are”.
The
Socialisation
culture of girl relationships.
Anne
Campbell, sociologist: “Girls do not learn the right way to express aggression, they simply learn not to express it”. inability to say our true feelings, suppressing our anger, adopting a false self of the “nice & polite” girl, at the expense of our true selves.
An
What‟s it all about?
Protecting
and preserving my relationships or the social status I enjoy. over qualities that they perceive are valued.
Competition:
Exclusion.
What‟s It All About?
Group-bonding.
Group
acceptance. & relief of boredom.
Entertainment This
is fundamentally a social justice issue.
What can we do about it?
The
indirect & all pervasive nature of the behaviours makes a disciplinary approach to intervention difficult.
Must
involve a paradigm shift in the culture of girls relationships.
We
must deconstruct the way girls friendships operate. raising endeavours must be done.
Consciousness Start
by naming the issue for what it is.
What can we do about it?
Policies need to allow for responses to be made even against “one off” acts of aggression. Don‟t downplay the issue or blame the targeted girl. Create opportunities for on-going conversations around the issues. Provide opportunities for the girls to become attuned to their behaviours, realise what they are doing, when they are doing it, and most importantly why they are doing it.
What can we do about it?
Our students reported that whilst they felt their teachers cared very much they also understood very little about what was going on in the school regarding this issue. Need both case-by-case responses as well as schoolwide initiatives. Being proactive is easier and more effective.
What can we do about it?
Encourage the proactive & protective role of the bystander: help the bystanders work together to stand up to aggressive behaviours. Help peer groups establish a new ethos of not tolerating aggression. Social skills need to be learnt, modelled and practiced.
Solutions from the students:
Year 7 students wanted a disciplinary approach taken against aggressive acts. Year 9 students had a more complex understanding of the problem putting little faith in traditional disciplining responses.
These students favoured approaches that sought to understand the situation more fully, engaging the whole group in discussing how to proceed. Yr 9 students also felt solutions lay personally within the target.
Our pilot intervention group
toxic group of Year 10 girls. Establishing trust, safety & permission. Exploration of „relational aggression‟. Confronting each other. Airing grievances, hurts & beliefs. Deconstructing their own behaviours, in relation to the themes.
A
The pilot group cont‟d...
Skills
were modelled & taught:
Promoting use of “I” statements. Assertiveness training. Problem-solving skills.
Exploring
how their group operates. Understanding their own responses to conflict. Expressing their feelings with each other.
THE HOPE IS…
That
the underlying culture of girls relationships may be challenged & questioned so that an alternative way for girls to relate with each other can be promoted, fostered, modelled and taught.
That
girls will come to understand the hidden culture of aggression in their relationships.
That
girls who are victimised will know they are not alone & that they will enjoy protection at school.
….and that finally, maybe, this does not have to be “just the way girls are” !
Intervention Programme „Girls Get Real‟
„Girls Get Real‟ is an eight week proactive programme that examines the unique nature of girl friendships by examining the factors that influence girl culture. Factors such as the socialisation process of girls, the influence of groups, popularity, the quest for a „bestfriend‟, anger, and apologies are examined in relation to maintaining or changing the dynamics of girl culture. The programme ultimately encourages the use of selfawareness and self-reflective skills in order to empower the girls to self-regulate their own relational aggressive behaviours that, if left unchallenged, will maintain the status quo of „…it‟s just the way girls are‟.
„Girls Get Real‟
The „Girls Get Real‟ programme equips the school with a common or shared language for present and future use by building on existing policies and curriculum. It creates a healthy and safe school community whereby relational aggression is exposed and replaced with an alternative discourse that honours girl friendships. Enhances schools existing principles of social justice.
If you are interested in the „Girls Get Real‟ programme for your school please contact Lyndall Healey or Belinda Lyons healeygreens@aapt.net.au