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As people across the province don their pink shirts to show support for anti-bullying initiatives as part of Pink Shirt Day, a personal injury lawyer who focuses on the topic of bullying is reminding parents to watch for the warning signs.
Jasmine Daya says when it comes to cyber-bullying, the symptoms are not visible like bruises that would result from physical bullying.
“(There are) things like if a child fakes illness a lot or complains of illness or doesn’t want to go to school. (If they) have increased anxiety, or deteriorating grades,” Daya told the Greg Morgan Morning Show on Tuesday.
The Pink Shirt Day group lists different types of bullying, including physical, verbal, social and relational, and cyberbullying.
The origins of Pink Shirt Day can be traced to a high school in small-town Nova Scotia.
Two students, David Shepherd and Travis Price, organized a protest in which people wore pink in support of a boy who was being bullied. That boy was was being harassed for wearing a pink shirt.
Other groups have taken up the cause, including the Boys and Girls Club.
Daya said bullying is a serious problem and, in some cases, can warrant involvement by police and the courts.
“Criminal harassment, intimidation, fraud, extortion, counselling suicide, threats — (those are) a criminal matter, and the police can lay charges on the bully,” she said.
She added that legal action can be pursued.
“There can be a lawsuit that is commenced against the school board or even against the parents of a bully that know that this is occurring, that their child is committing this act and they can be held liable,” she said.
