?Speak up about it, and tell people you?re being bullied. Don?t hide it. Don?t be ashamed of it???Glee? star Matthew Morrison
ON AN EPISODE of the US television program ?Ellen? last November, Madonna beamed in via satellite to speak on the recent spate of teen suicides linked to antigay bullying. First and foremost, she explained, ?The gay community has been incredibly supportive of me. I wouldn?t have a career if it weren?t for the gay community.?

The pop star cited the media and our culture as the main culprits behind bullying and intolerance. She extended her love and support to all those who are struggling, and agreed with Ellen de Generes that bullies end up being losers.

Glee star Matthew Morrison and Justin Bieber are two more celebrities who have recently spoken up about bullying.

?I think it?s important that we talk about it, and that we do something about it,? said Morrison.

?It?s a hard thing to do, and you feel awful about yourself, but as someone who has been bullied in the past, life gets better and this isn?t the end. You can?t let other people dictate how you feel or who you are. Just know yourself, trust yourself, and know that you have a voice. Speak up about it, and tell people you?re being bullied. Don?t hide it. Don?t be ashamed of it,? he continued.

Bieber admitted having ?haters? who say crazy stuff, but he wasn?t mad about online taunts.

Child violence

Violence against children by their peers, in particular bullying, has received little attention in the country, possibly due to the perception that bullying and fighting among children is part of school culture.

?Away-bata? is the common excuse for it?it?s ?normal? or ?a rite of passage? for children.

Technology provides a new medium for abuse, cyber-bullying. The Internet and mobile phones have provided new opportunities for bullying through online chat lines, personal web pages, text messages, and transmission of images.

?The Internet is a medium where children are exposed to abuse,? says lawyer Ani Saguisag, Unicef child protection specialist. ?Cyber-bullying is a phenomenon involving cruel, humiliating language or defacing a person on a website. It can ruin a person?s reputation overnight.?

Unique aspects of cyber-bullying are that it allows perpetrators to remain anonymous, it allows for quick distribution and replication of messages, and it can turn masses of children into bystanders or witnesses of nonphysical bullying of a highly malicious nature, as perpetrators hide behind their anonymity.

A school is a student?s second home, and assumed to be one of the safest places for children. Unfortunately, for some this is where they experience abuse.

Schools become the settings that expose children to violence, not just from their peers but also from teachers and school personnel. Children may experience corporal punishment, verbal abuse, sexual and gender-based violence, fighting, and bullying.

The reality is that children are bullied and labeled not only by their peers, but violence is also perpetrated when children are punished and embarrassed by their teachers.

Help line

The Unicef Children Against Violence Campaign was created to address the experiences of children, who are often afraid to speak up or don?t realize they are being abused. Educating them about their rights is a form of empowerment and a step towards change.

?The solution has to start with the children themselves,? says Saguisag. ?They should recognize it is a problem, and that it is a violation of their rights. Otherwise, things won?t change.?

Violence against children happens worldwide. If a child has experienced violence? whether physical or inner pain?he or she has a right to seek safety.

The World Report on Violence Against Children delivers its core message: ?No violence against children is justifiable. All violence against children is preventable.?



Take Action

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

1. Write to your lawmakers to support the passage of the Anti-Corporal Punishment Bill, which seeks to ban all forms of physical punishment of children, whether at school, in the community, or in the home.

2. Report cases of abuse to your local police station or ?Aling Pulis? hotline at (0917) 777-7377.

3. Engage other youth in educating peers and families about their rights, for feedback and monitoring cases of abuse and violence and providing support for each other.

4. Be an advocate of positive discipline. You can also research online for more resources on positive discipline. Contact the Council for Welfare of Children (CWC) at tel. no. 740-8864 for more information.

5. Talk about it on Facebook.

6. For more info on children?s rights, visit www.unicef.ph.