- A new survey of over 1000 young people aged 11-16yrs, from The Diana Award conducted by Survation, reveals that over half (60%) of young people have experienced bullying in school, and 30% of young people have experienced bullying online.
- Over half of young people (53%) say they are worried about experiencing bullying online.
- The research also found that 49% of online bullying starts offline, the majority of cases (78%) in school.
- 67% of young people find it easier talking about online issues with someone who is close to their own age than with a teacher, reinforcing the need for peer-to-peer anti-bullying support.
- The Diana Award’s Anti-Bullying Ambassador Programme has now reached 770 schools with 9,120 young people trained in anti-bullying prevention since working with Facebook in March 2018.
Facebook hosts a star-studded Diana Award Anti-Bullying School Showcase on Tuesday 9th July, to celebrate young people across the UK who are working together to tackle bullying within their schools, supported by The Diana Award and Facebook.
Bringing together policy makers, MPs and celebrities, the event will showcase the work of students and schools who have adopted The Diana Award’s Anti-Bullying Ambassador Programme, a training programme offered to every school in the UK to train young people to provide peer-to-peer support and stand up to bullying.
The event will offer first-hand experiences of how The Diana Award’s Anti-Bullying Programme engages young people to take the lead and tackle bullying in their schools and communities, as well as promoting the safe use of the internet and tackling cyberbullying.
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Jeremy Wright and Vice President of Facebook EMEA, Nicola Mendelsohn will be speaking and participating in a panel discussion, chaired by a student from the Diana Award Anti-Bullying Ambassador Programme.
Alex Holmes, Deputy CEO of The Diana Award, said:
“Thanks to the ongoing support of The Department for Education and more recently Facebook, we are working hard to ensure that bullying doesn’t prevent young people from leading happy, safe and successful lives. We know that bullying remains the number one concern of young people with the majority of bullying behaviour starting in school and that’s why we are proud to have enabled 770 new schools along with 9,120 pupils learn the skills to keep themselves and their peers safe online and offline. We are now urging more secondary schools across the UK to sign up to this programme.”
“Thanks to the ongoing support of The Department for Education and more recently Facebook, we are working hard to ensure that bullying doesn’t prevent young people from leading happy, safe and successful lives. We know that bullying remains the number one concern of young people with the majority of bullying behaviour starting in school and that’s why we are proud to have enabled 770 new schools along with 9,120 pupils learn the skills to keep themselves and their peers safe online and offline. We are now urging more secondary schools across the UK to sign up to this programme.”
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Rt Hon Jeremy Wright QC MP, said: “The Diana Award’s Anti-Bullying Ambassadors are doing some great work to help stamp out bullying both online and offline. This partnership with Facebook is helping to reach even more young people by giving them the tools they need to stay safe. The Government is playing its part too. Alongside direct support for anti-bullying organisations, our world-leading plans for online harms regulation will further tackle cyberbullying and make online spaces safer for young people.”
The Diana Award was established for young people in memory of Princess Diana and is supported by her sons, the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex. The showcase event is designed to demonstrate how anyone can stand up to bullying through the incredible work of The Diana Award’s Anti-Bullying Ambassador Programme, which has been supported by Facebook since March 2018 to help the charity extend the reach of its programme. Since working with Facebook, the programme has reached 770 schools with 9,120 young people trained in anti-bullying tactics.
