Did you know that October is National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month?
Every October, schools and organizations across the country join National Bullying Prevention Month.
The goal? To encourage schools, communities and organizations to work together to stop bullying and cyberbullying and put an end to hatred and racism by increasing awareness of the prevalence and impact of all forms of bullying on all children of all ages.
CAIR’s guide, titled Bias and Bullying: Empowering Muslim Children in the Age of Islamophobia, provides key recommendations for families and communities to help stop the spread of bigotry, hate and Islamophobia in schools.
CAIR’s guide also offers a five-step checklist for “What to Do If You Are Bullied at School” and “Know Your Rights” materials for Muslim students in Arabic, Bengali, Bosnian, Farsi, Somali, and Urdu.
SEE: CAIR Anti-Bullying Guide http://www.islamophobia.org/research/bullying-and-bias-in-schools.html
“Bullying and Bias” states: “Unfortunately, incidents of bullying and bias occur every day. Thankfully, there are resources around us that can provide a solution to the problem of a racist bully, a vindictive teacher, or an unaware administrator.”
It recommends:
- Defend Yourself by Knowing Your Rights in schools, the workplace, and the law.
- Educate Yourself and Your Community with the latest research and information.
- Empower Yourself and Your Community with professional advocacy and engagement.
In order to address the complex problem of Islamophobia in public schools, CAIR’s Department of Research and Advocacy is developing a pilot program for school engagement on issues related to the following three areas:
- Bullying and peer-to-peer aggression as it relates to Muslim students
- Teacher and administrator training on diversity and inclusion vis-a-vis the problem of anti-Muslim bias, bigotry, and Islamophobia
- Curriculum quality control verification and enhancement on issues related to Islam and Muslims in the areas of social studies and current affairs
CAIR offers anti-bullying and bystander intervention workshops, as well as a free guide to explain relevant Muslim religious practices to educators.
