00:00A structure of colonialism. According to Dr. Margaret Naked Chatur, bullying is premised
00:05on that structure. And so, she says, it has always been a part of our society.
00:10And there's bullying in all levels, in governments, in schools, in churches, in workplaces, in
00:16homes. There's bullying. What we have is a culture of silence. We don't talk about it.
00:22We don't expose the perpetrators. We don't expose the bullies. And when we do, we are
00:28ignored or ourselves bullied or harassed or silenced.
00:33More than that, Dr. Naked Chatur says, silence is sometimes seen as a proper response to
00:38aggression, and that should not be the case. The psychologist questions why 15-year-old
00:43Jaden Lalchan felt that taking his life was the only way out.
00:47There has to be something else there that we're not looking at, something in the dynamics
00:53of the school, dynamics of the family, the power structures that continue to be perpetuated
00:59in the society.
01:00She says homes are failing in their responsibility to instill values and provide all-around support,
01:06for example, through the extended family. And so she believes the onus is now on schools
01:11to do so.
01:12It must be done in the schools. The schools have to lead by default here. The schools
01:19have to put things in place to address bullying.
01:23Dr. Naked Chatur says while many teachers have been trained to deal with the issue,
01:27more is needed.
01:28We need a policy in place to address it and to move it forward, to move it forward in
01:33a direction where there are consequences for actions, where schools can be accountable
01:40for not being effective enough, for listening to a story and not following through on it.
01:48Schools have a duty of care, and I don't think many of them understand that.
01:53The psychologist believes that schools in which prayer and rituals are part of daily
01:57activities tend to have a more positive foundation for their students. She calls for a whole-of-school
02:03approach to addressing bullying.
02:05Where you create a positive school climate, you promote respect, you promote inclusion,
02:12you encourage students to have positive relationships with each other. In the classroom, you may
02:16not want to hear certain things, but let students talk, because they're talking from
02:21a frame of reference, from an environment that they come from.
02:25She says clear anti-bullying policies with consistent implementation are also needed.
02:31Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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