Published 1 November 2021
Basseterre
Buckie Got It, St.Kitts and Nevis News Source
FROM VICTIM TO ADVOCATE, VERCHILDS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT WORKING TO STOP BULLYING
Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 01, 2021 (SKNIS): With the advancement of technology and communication systems over time, cyber-bullying is on the increase, especially among teenagers. On the October 27, 2021 edition of ‘Working For You’, Ms. Glennika Richardson-Govia, a student of the Verchilds High School detailed her experience of coping with being bullied and how she would advocate against it.
“The way that I coped with being bullied is mixed because some of the strategies are healthy and some are not healthy. For the healthy ones, I talked to my favourite teacher because she is such an understanding person and we are really close. I may have talked to other family members, my peers and even the people that bully me. After a certain time passed, I had a one and one talk with persons who used to bully me and they themselves ended up being bullied and understood how I felt. I also listened to music that would uplift me… music is something that also keeps me calm. I also would have exercised, played games or just not socialized,” said Ms. Richardson-Govia.
The high school student stated that because of being bullied, she suffered a period of depression that caused her not to attend school for an entire school term and was admitted to the Joseph N. France General Hospital (JNF) for treatment. Ms. Richardson-Govia is now an advocate against bullying and outlined some of the ways she interacts with her peers to help stop bullying.
“If someone wants to bully, like I said earlier, they are going to do it, but for me I would tell them to try and put themselves in someone being bullied shoes, to think about it from different perspectives, or if I see someone doing wrong in class often times I correct them, but for some reason though because of the culture when you do such it becomes a big deal… If you’re not one of the popular kids, they tend not to agree with you whether it is wrong or right but I think when you are really a down to earth person or even if not, once you have good understanding you should know wrong from right and you should stand up for something. Because if you do not want something to happen to you, you should not allow it to happen to other,” she said.
The young advocate plans to continue working to help other persons are struggling with bullying in an effort to assist them. According to a report on NBC News, a majority of school related shootings in the U.S are directly related to school bullying.
