LGBT Rights in Ontario Schools
Scenario: Mark is a 17 year old student who attends a co-educational high school. Having ‘come-out’ to his school about his sexual orientation, he takes pride in being gay. Yet life hasn’t been so easy for him. Constantly teased by his peers, he feels ostracized by former friends and shunned by his classmates. One day,…
The Supreme Court of Canada Combats Cyber-Bullying
In September of 2012, Canada’s top court, the Supreme Court of Canada, struck a blow to cyber-bullies in a case called AB v Bragg Communications Inc, 2012 SCC 46. Background The rise of social media platforms has had a drastic impact on the way people communicate. Facebook, the social media market leader, now has roughly…
Responses to Bullying?
This is an opinion piece by JFCY volunteer Bianca Thomas. It does not reflect the opinion or position of JFCY as a whole.Currently, Canadian criminal law, as enshrined in the Criminal Code of Canada, does not include an offence for bullying. While certain types of bullying behaviour, such as harassment and uttering threats, can result…
School Fights: What can the consequences be?
Josh, 15, and Dave, 16, have never gotten along. No one knows exactly when their animosity towards one another began, but in Grade 11, everything got out of control. It started a couple months ago when Josh started dating Dave’s ex-girlfriend, Sam. Dave and his friends at school would taunt and tease Josh in the…
Bullying in the news: consequences and responses
The description of the news article below and the “Afterthought” are the opinions of Deby Ko, a volunteer member of JFCY’s PLE Team and JFCY’s bullying sub-committee. The information about the proposed Ontario legislation is by JFCY. Bullying in the News – By JFCY volunteer Deby Ko Current news indicates how severe bullying can be…
Cyber-bullying
My name is Labiba and I am a JFCY volunteer on the PLE Team and the Cyberbullying Subcommittee. My blog post is about the use of phones, internet and other technologies by bullies to mock, intimidate or terrorise their victims. Bullies have always been around. Sometimes people are bullies because it makes them feel good…
Topic in the News: Bullying
Our last post, we had a guest blogger write on the topic of bullying. This is a topic that is often in the news. Here some very interesting articles from people who were bullied and a short video by Rick Mercer on the topic of bullying! Take a look! An Incredible Life Waits Beyond the…
Guest Blogger Yasmin Rajabi on School Bullying
Yasmin is a grade 10 student in Toronto and a volunteer member of JFCY’s Public Legal Education Committee. She has written a blog on bullying. Consider Yasmin’s scenario: Harry’s books were once again knocked out of his hands. His heartbeat sped up and his palms became slippery with sweat. “Move, this hallway isn’t for losers,” Tom sneered…