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Against Bullying
A resolution to restrict civil freedoms in the interest of moral decency.Category: Moral DecencyStrength: MildProposed by: Tinhampton
Recognising that, while GA#603 "LGBTIQA Inclusiveness in Schools Act" was enacted to prevent homophobic bullying and to promote respect for the LGBTQ+ community, it was later repealed for its overbroad definitions and unfortunately poor arguments, but
Believing nonetheless that all students and staff in schools, regardless of their circumstances or immutable characteristics, deserve to be treated fairly and without discrimination...
The General Assembly hereby enacts as follows.
- For the purposes of this resolution, "bullying" means any of the wilful acts of:
- discriminating against or harming (whether verbally, physically or psychologically) any person to their disadvantage simply because they possess or lack any arbitrary and reductive characteristic (ARC),
- discriminating against or harming any student to their disadvantage due to their levels of academic achievement, and of
- promoting either aforementioned form of discrimination or harm.
- Nothing in Article a forbids:
- schools from using academic ability as a criterion for membership on ability-based school programmes (such as gifted and talented programmes),
- schools from using physical ability as a criterion for membership on school sports teams,
- institutes of higher education from making offers to students based on their predicted or actual grades, or
- employers from using students' predicted or actual grades as a factor in offering employment to them.
- Schools in member states (hereinafter "schools") shall prohibit their students and staff from engaging in bullying while on school property, must prescribe appropriately punitive action against such bullies, and are encouraged to similarly punish those of their students and staff who are understood to have engaged in bullying beyond school property.
- Schools shall enable their students and staff to report bullying, investigate to the best of their ability all reports which allege that their students or staff have engaged in bullying, and not retaliate against any student or staff for making such a report where it is not frivolous.
- Schools must:
- regularly raise awareness among their students and staff of what bullying is, the different forms it can take, the kinds of people it can affect, its negative health impacts, how it can be prevented (including by bystanders), what punishments exist for it, and Article d reporting mechanisms,
- actively encourage their students and staff not to disrespect or otherwise bully any person because of whatever ARCs they may have,
- offer personal and meaningful support to those of their students and staff who are involved in bullying, with a particular focus on the wrongness of bullying and the full responsibility of the bully for their actions,
- confidentially provide all of their students and staff with informative and respectful resources about the various ARCs, should those students and staff request them, and
- remind their students and staff that all individuals - regardless of whatever ARCs they may possess or lack - are equal in value and equal under law.