On behalf of the Shakti team, we would like to take this opportunity to invite you to future Community Cafés addressing violence against women and other social issues. We have held Community Cafés in the past to address this issue and to get the community engaged in conversations that we hope will bring about societal change at a personal level. This year, we want to continue the dialogue and education through community forums like our cafés.
Shakti Society held a community café on bullying on June 7th which was well attended by over 50 participants from high school students, teachers, counsellors to adults and seniors from the general public. Several issues were raised and discussed and there was a keen interest to keep the dialogue going. We will be posting further information on how you can become involved on this page.
We have held community cafes in the past to address violence in relationships and to get the community engaged in conversations to bring about societal change. This year, we want to continue the dialogue and education on violence in the form of bullying.
Bullying is the use of force, threat, or coercion to abuse, intimidate, or aggressively dominate others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. The most common forms of bullying are: verbal, physical, social, psychological and cyber. More than half of Canadian students report that bullying is a problem at their high school and 78 per cent of Canadians think that not enough is being done to stop bullying in their community, according to PREVNet. This is an issue that affects not just young people but men and women from all walks of life.
Children and adults who are bullied are more likely to experience depression, anxiety, changes in sleep and eating patterns and loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy. These issues may persist into adulthood. According to ‘Psychology Today’ worplace bullying has become a silent epidemic in North America, one that has huge hidden costs in terms of employee well being and productivity.
Shakti Society is committed to bringing about meaningful change in our communities by empowering individuals to find their own voice and inner strength. We invited parents, teachers, social workers, organizations and individuals who have been impacted by bullying to share their thoughts. This was an interactive forum where everyone got the opportunity to talk about their experiences and brought forth ideas to bring about meaningful change.
Panel of Speakers: