Do you know 2,846 reports of bullying were reported in 2008 and 2009? Today there are more. Bullying happens often, especially in schools. There are kids who get bullied everyday in school and the teachers sometimes don’t notice it and the bullying continues. This is why schools should have a stricter anti bullying policy.
Anti bullying policies are important to have in schools. Approximately 41 states across the country have adopted anti bullying laws in public and private schools. Bullying left unchecked can cause victims serious bodily harm.  Dr. Astor once said “ When they learn how to treat each other, it does society a lot of good.” Having anti bullying policies in schools outlines the range of detrimental effects bullying has on students and helps them. It gives them comfort and understanding so they don’t have to go down the road where they harm themselves. If these schools do not have this policy, then children continue to get bullied and the effects of bullying of bullying on children have been documented from psychological and physical harm. These kids need something to make them feel safe.
There are many reports of bullying in schools each year, because when people are face to face, it makes it easier for the bully to torture them. In 2013, some 20% of high school students have reported that they’ve experienced bullying in their schools. 56% of students have personally witnessed some type of bullying at school. Just because we notice bullying, doesn’t mean that we always do something about it. This is why schools need to have a policy that stops bullying in schools, and if bullying does happen, it’s handled better. Also, another 71% of students report incidents of bullying of bullying as a problem in their school. Bullying happens in all grades, not just high school. Kids ages 12-17 believe they have seen violence increase at their schools. Meaning that most middle schoolers and high schoolers have seen bullying continue, probably because those schools aren’t doing everything they can to stop it.
Kids should not have to feel unsafe about going to schools, nor feel like that’s where they are going to get bullied. Nearly 160,000 children in the United States miss school due to the fear of being bullied. A lot of kids get bullied at school and it affects them so much, to the point where they can’t even show up at school. 32% of students report being bullied at school. Bullying gets so serious sometimes, where the kids either drop out, or they have to change schools because the bullying doesn’t stop. 1 in 10 kids drop out of school due to repeated bullying, and 30,000 children stay home everyday because they’re worried that they will be bullied.
Many kids become depressed due to the constant bullying and they sometimes even commit suicide. Worst effects of bullying can often lead to loneliness, low self-esteem, depression, etc.  Over 16% of students seriously consider suicide because the level of bullying they receive. 13% create a plan to commit suicide. Many teens try committing suicide because they are at such a bad state where they feel there is no other way out. 100 suicide attempts are made each day. When we get bullied, we feel worthless and feel alone. Kids need a policy that can help them get through these tough times, so it doesn’t always have to lead to suicide.
If students have support and help from their teachers, they feel more safe and more schools have taken bullying seriously . More than 200 districts have snapped up $1295 package for anti-bullying. Kids actually admire these anti bullying policies, because then they don’t have to feel afraid anymore. 72% of students said they value anti-bullying efforts more when they come from their peers. Meaning they feel more comfortable when peers their age are taking steps to stop bullying. Chris Colfer, an actor on Glee once said “When people hurt you over and over, think of them like sandpaper; They might scratch and hurt you a bit, but in the end, you end up polished and up useless”.
Even though these anti-bullying policies are well needed, people think they are a waste of money because they don’t work in part because they address symptoms and not underlying problems but they do help, they benefit students and helps decrease bullying. We need these anti bullying policies because if you haven’t heard about Amanda Todd story, you wouldn’t know how bad it is. Amanda Todd was a teenager who got bullied because of a picture she sent. The picture got out. Everyone in her school saw and they all bullied her. She made another mistake and got punched and beat on by a guy’s girlfriend. It got so bad that the night that happened, she drank bleach. It didn’t work but people found out and kept tagging her in pictures with bleach. She finally had to change schools for a fresh start, but after awhile, they found out too and she was alone. The teachers did nothing until one day she finally committed suicide. That is why schools need a stricter policy, so teachers can handle it a lot better and get involved.  Kids feel more safe when talked to about bullying, they don’t feel alone.
Bullying has gotten to a point where it happens too often. Some kids don’t even feel safe going to school anymore. This has gotten to a bad point where more people need to take charge. How many more kids have to die from suicide before bullying comes to an end?