Funded by the Irish Government, Department of Foreign Affairs Reconciliation Fund, this project aims to work with children and young people, children’s workforce, and parents and carers, to help address the issue of sectarian bullying in Northern Ireland.
Bullying is one of the main issues impacting children and young people today, having an adverse effect on the development of their personal, social and emotional health, wellbeing, life chance and achievement. Bullying can severely isolate children and young people from their own community and links between bullying and mental health are well established in research. Studies show how children who have been bullied are significantly more likely to experience a range of mental health issues including anxiety, self-harm and depression with the effects lasting well into adulthood. These include having poorer physical and mental health, and achieving less financially and occupationally than those who were not bullied.
Bullying both in school, online, and in the community among children and young people appears to be a bigger problem in Northern Ireland than in the South of Ireland or in Britain although we are lacking recent good quality research in the area. A comparative poll of young people from England and NI carried out by the Anti-Bullying Alliance in 2020, of over 1K pupils aged 11-16, found that 56% of young people had experienced bullying in NI, compared to 33% in England. Of them, 47% say they have experienced bullying in the community, but in comparison, this was only the case for 16% of young people in England. This stark comparison shows us that bullying beyond school is a serious problem in NI and those working with children and young people on a daily basis are struggling to address it.
Research has shown that sectarianism and sectarian bullying is still rife among adults in NI, but there is very little research of the impact of sectarian bullying has among young people in today’s Northern Ireland 26 years on from the Good Friday Agreement.
ABA are working to design resources for the children’s workforce in NI on the topic of Sectarian Bullying, to give them the skills to understand how to prevent and respond to sectarian bullying. In order to create resources, we are trying to gain a better understanding of the current state of sectarian bullying of children and young people in NI. To do this, we are currently working with children and young people, children’s workforce, and parents and carers, listening to their experiences to help create resources for change.
We would love to hear your thoughts and experiences on this topic. if you’re a young person, a parent or carer, or work with children and young people, please take the time to complete our survey and help us ensure we’re creating the best evidence-based resources possible.
Survey Links
Children and Young People Survey
Any Questions?
If you would like to hear more about this project please contact us at [email protected]