Circle of Respect Seeks To Change Bullying Behavior

Bullying isn’t a rite of passage. With its new Circle of Respect campaign, NCPC will work with the Simon Property Group, Inc., and others to change not just the perception of bullying, but the behavior itself.

By Angela Sivak, NCPC Staff

Bullying can be devastating. And now, with the introduction of the Internet and cell phones, bullies can reach kids not just at the school yard, but inside their homes. Bullying and cyberbullying are serious, national problems.

The violent tragedies at Virginia Tech and Columbine, where the shooters were bullied loners, and the suicides of Meghan Meier, Ryan Halligan, and Jessica Logan, who suffered at the hands of bullies, are reminders of the devastating effects of bullying. And these young people were not alone in their pain. According to the 2007 Bureau of Justice Statistics’ Indicators of School Crime and Safety Report, 28 percent of students between the ages of 12 and 18 had suffered as the victims of bullying in the past six months. Many suffered serious mental health problems as a result. The National Crime Prevention Council is determined to do something about this deeply troubling problem.

NCPC has been working to prevent bullying since the early 1990s. The Circle of Respect (COR) is NCPC’s latest and most comprehensive campaign to protect youth from bullying and cyberbullying. To be officially launched in October, the campaign will seek to change the commonly held belief that bullying is a rite of passage, and teach instead that such behavior is unacceptable through a positive, pro-social message that encourages respect and consideration for others. Robin Warren, NCPC’s program manager for the Circle of Respect campaign, described how the campaign also aims to “reduce the number of children and youth who engage in bullying or harassment, develop various resources to increase public awareness of bullying and harassment, and define roles and promote messages that can be implemented by numerous audiences to reduce bullying and harassment among children and adults.”

To succeed in its mission, COR will feature an education campaign, outreach materials including publications and public service advertising, and partnership efforts to reach a national audience.

One important aspect of the Circle of Respect campaign will be engaging the public. COR will join with individuals and organizations to help raise awareness of bullying. NCPC will start by working with the Simon Property Group, Inc. (SPG) on events coming up this summer.

The Simon Property Group is an outlet through which NCPC can reach many people. SPG, founded in 1960, now owns more than 200 retail malls located across the country. The company uses five different real estate platforms: regional malls, Premium Outlet Centers, The Mills, community centers, and international properties. It currently owns, or is aiming to own, 384 companies, which would extend its ownership over 261 million square feet of land in North America, Europe, and Asia. On average, SPG reaches 6.25 million shoppers in photos with Santa and 1.2 million shoppers with Easter Bunny photos. Circle of Respect’s message will be shown in Simon’s marketing platforms to help brand SPG’s malls as safe, anti-bullying zones.

NCPC, as part of its collaboration with the Simon Property Group, is cosponsoring a series of events called the 2009 Simon dTOUR Live that will help engage the public in the Circle of Respect. SPG is hosting the events complete with BMX bike demos, interactive games, and musical performances by Hoobastank, Shwayze, and other bands popular among teens.

There will be nine 2009 Simon dTOUR Live events throughout August. At the events, NCPC will have an interactive stage activity with a large scale and a mock bully on one end. Children will climb together on the other end of the scale to try to outweigh the bully. This game is symbolic of the Circle of Respect’s mission, which is bringing people together to overcome bullying. NCPC will also hand out bracelets at the events labeled “Circle of Respect” to raise awareness of the campaign.

Through SPG’s outreach to millions of people, NCPC hopes to transmit the Circle of Respect’s message to parents and children nationwide. COR is based on the understanding that bullying threatens nearly one-third of American teens. “It’s clear that bullying has become a tidal wave of epic proportions,” said Warren. The Circle of Respect now hopes to make this knowledge clear to the public and offer people a way to protect the safety of their communities and their children.

“Bullying is no longer acceptable behavior. It isn’t cool,” said NCPC President and CEO Alfonso E. Lenhardt. “It is the task of the Circle of Respect to keep bullying out of our communities and keep our youth safe from victimization.”