Most schools in Ireland are Catholic schools, and close to 80% of the population describe their religion as Catholic according to the 2016 Census.

Yet, a growing number of people do not practice the religion. Many may attend Christenings and Communions simply as it is part of Irish culture rather than any genuine belief in the practice.

According to Professor James O'Higgins Norman, this has led to practising Catholics being singled out for bullying in schools more than non-religious students.

As reported by The Irish Times, Professor O'Higgins Norman shared research from Dublin City University (DCU) Anti-Bullying Centre, which stated that Religion teachers had noticed bullying towards practising Catholics.

Norman said that it was vital that we "promote understanding of difference, that difference is the norm, a good thing, and no two kids are the same."

Prof O'Higgins Norman and his academic team were addressing the Oireachtas Committee on Education, which is examining the issue of school bullying and its effects on mental health.

The committee heard that physical appearance was "the top reason for being bullied".

"It is well established in research that negative childhood experiences have a negative effect on the development of a child, particularly when the bullying is related to identity. Our research shows that school principals understand and recognise this," Prof O'Higgins Norman said.

However, the DCU submission also noted that only 51 per cent of schools have appointed a specific staff member to investigate and tackle bullying. It called for greater transparency regarding how cases are reported and dealt with in individual schools.

Fianna Fáil Senator Fiona O'Loughlin proposed a national bullying database whereby schools would record incidents and types of bullying. This would identify how often Catholic schoolchildren were being bullied based on their beliefs.

Prof O'Higgins Norman said he would support such a database that tracked bullying activity because "having good quality data allows us to make informed decisions about the initiatives that we use and about how effective they are".

Dr Mairéad Foody noted that cyber-bullying was still less prevalent than more traditional forms, but it could have a more severe impact on victims.

"One incident of cyber-bullying might be enough for somebody to feel so isolated and alone that their mental health is under severe pressure. Whereas offline bullying might continue for a little bit more time before they would need to seek help," she said.

Prof O'Higgins Norman said parents and teachers were also "rightly concerned" about cyber-bullying. He noted improvements in online moderation were increasingly reliant on artificial intelligence designed to identify bullying before it was seen.

"[However] we don't have a full picture of how well it's working because the metrics are within companies, and access to them is quite limited," he said.

Sources

Irish Post

World News

Discussion topics include how children and teenagers can be protected from sextortion, sexting, cyber-bullying, harassment and exploitation.

The Vatican's top diplomat, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, is among those addressing the summit. His talk is entitled: "The Holy See and its commitment to combatting sex abuse online."

Pope Francis will attend the conference near the end of the week.

Jesuit priest Hans Zollner, Head of the Center for Child Protection and a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, says the topic is a dangerous issue for "many, many young people in the world today."

Zollner says he has spoken to many parents who do not know what to do about online bullying.

"We will start now, but again this is just one step in a very long journey that needs persistence and perseverance - and we try to make our contribution to that."

The summit was organised by the Pontifical Gregorian University's Centre for Child Protection.

Source

• The Tablet
• Catholic News Agency
• Image: WorldPulse

The gossiping was endless.

"Everything I seemed to do was something to talk about. The girls would nudge each other and say: 'Shhhh, Amelia* is there'."

School felt like a popularity contest.

Amelia was asked to name the three prettiest girls in year 7.

When she shrugged, and said she thought everyone was pretty, she was ostracised for not playing the game.

The girls would glare at her; Amelia calls it the death stare.

Amelia was asked why she didn't wear bike shorts under her school uniform.

They would mock her laugh.

It was, Amelia's mother says, like living the film Mean Girls.

"There was this culture of nastiness that is endemic in a group of toxic girls."

A delegation of girls told a teacher that Amelia was being bullied.

Amelia worried this would make things worse.

She said she didn't want any action taken.

However the teacher decided to stage "The Intervention".

Amelia and her main antagonist were brought together to discuss the problem.

But then the teacher's mobile rang and she left the room, leaving Amelia and the bully alone together. "I was just sitting there painfully," Amelia says.

As she had feared, things got worse. One afternoon four girls simultaneously blocked her on Instagram.

Another day a group of 10 girls surrounded her locker, blocking her exit. She was shoved on a train station.

Amelia started hiding in the library at lunchtimes. "It was just really bad when I was on my own all the time." Continue reading

Sources

• The Sydney Morning Herald
• Image: Mail Online

The problem of cyberbullying was brought to national attention several years ago by the passing of 13-year-old Megan Meier, who committed suicide subsequent to cyberbullying by Lori Drew, the mother of another girl.

Despite years of public campaigns and passage of laws against cyberbullying, the phenomenon is becoming increasingly common and children continue to suffer, with too may of them tragically taking their own lives.