Olweus Bullying Prevention Presents at U.N.
Center City, Minnesota (PRWEB) October 28, 2015 -- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
OLWEUS Bullying Prevention Program Outlines Best Practices for United Nations Event on “Protecting Children from Bullying”
October 26, 2015, Center City, Minnesota -- When it comes to the worldwide effort to prevent bullying, a Clemson University staff member is in the center of the action.
Jane Riese, LSW, participated in “Protecting Children from Bullying,” a side event of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly’s 70th session on Oct. 13 that brought together UN officials, bullying prevention experts, and child advocates. Riese is associate director of Safe and Humane Schools and directs training and consultation for the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program at Clemson’s Institute on Family and Neighborhood Life.
The event – organized by the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children, in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of Mexico and the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations – will inform a report that will be presented to the UN’s 71st session in 2016 on bullying prevention across the globe.
Riese spoke to the gathering about effective bullying prevention methods and stated best practices outlined by the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP). Among them:
Involving the entire school community: students, teachers, principal, parents, custodians, bus drivers, athletic coaches – everyone
Surveying students anonymously to learn the nature, prevalence and location of bullying
Forming a bullying prevention coordinating committee
Training all school staff on how to identify and respond to bullying
Establishing and properly enforcing school rules and policies on bullying
Increasing adult supervision
Intervening consistently
“The United Nations sees bullying as a global children’s human rights issue, because bullying – in any form – is a barrier to learning and compromises the rights of the child to an education,” Riese said. “I was honored to present information that can assist the UN in developing recommendations to deal with this issue, and I look forward to continued partnership in the days ahead.”
The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) is a comprehensive approach to bullying prevention that includes school, classroom, individual and community components. Proven to reduce bullying, improve the classroom social climate, and reduce related antisocial behaviors such as vandalism and truancy, the Olweus Program has been implemented in thousands of U.S. schools and in more than a dozen countries.
Safe and Humane Schools oversees training and implementation of the OBPP and partners with Hazelden Publishing to distribute implementation guides, classroom curriculum and survey materials to schools that participate in the program. The partnership began in 2007, when Hazelden worked with Clemson to revise and update the program for broad release in the United States.
About the Institute on Family and Neighborhood Life
Clemson’s Institute on Family and Neighborhood Life helps generate, share and apply the research foundation for youth, family, and community social development. The institute is housed in the Department of Youth, Family and Community Studies within Clemson’s College of Health, Education and Human Development.
About Hazelden Publishing
Hazelden Publishing is a division of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, the nation’s largest nonprofit treatment provider offering prevention and recovery solutions nationwide and across the entire continuum of care for youth and adults.
Claire McKinney, [email protected], http://www.clairemckinneypr.com, +1 (862) 252-1880, [email protected]
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