BULLYING can make anybody's school or work life a living hell but now it would appear that people who are suffering at the hands of bullies have a royal champion to fight their corner.
Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, has urged everyone to be ready to challenge bullying behaviour in a video message to support the first ever National Stand Up To Bullying Day.
William warned that bullying is not just confined to the playground or classroom and can affect anyone regardless of age, background, gender, sexuality, race, disability or religion.
National Stand Up To Bullying Day has been spearheaded by The Diana Award charity, which was set up in memory of William's mother Diana, Princess of Wales. Prince William said: "We all have a role to play to ensure that we do not stand by, but instead stand up, and put a stop to bullying.
"The reach of technology means it can feel unrelenting, leaving the victim feeling attacked, powerless and isolated. For young people in particular, bullying can have a profoundly damaging and long-lasting effect."
Here in south Cumbria we have a no tolerance attitude to bullying and Greengate Junior School headteacher Paula Hillman approves of having such a prominent mentor for the latest anti-bullying campaign. She said: "I think that it is great for children to have somebody to look up to like William. He can now act as a role model for younger children and set a good example.
"In September 2015 we introduced our first head girl and boy in year six and 12 prefects to act as peer mentors for the younger children.
"The main focus of this project was to encourage younger children to go to their mentors with issues that they might not feel comfortable discussing with teachers, like bullying.
"William isn't exactly a celebrity but he is certainly very high profile and anything that raises awareness of bullying and encourages people to come forward and ask for help is a great step."
Prince William stressed that more than 16,000 young people in the UK are absent from school each year due to bullying.
His campaign encourages people young and old to stand up to the bullies who are ruining the lives of their friends or fellow students. His idea that if more people actually stood up to bullies rather than turning a blind eye has been mirrored by Millom's most elegant beauty queen Skye Mitchell.
Skye, who has worked with the Evening Mail as a reporter too, was Miss Junior North West last year and set up her own anti-bullying campaign.
Skye, 17, of Lapstone Road, Millom, was bullied over her looks when she was younger. She decided that she would not let younger students at her school in Millom suffer the same fate and daubed her own face with specific insults bullies have used against her to raise awareness about just how cruel children can be.
She said: "The reason I wanted to do it was to help any young girls or boys out there who are being bullied. I want to show them there’s not a reason, it’s not them, it’s not their fault. Bullies don’t need a reason. It just happens to anyone.
“When it happens to you, you think: ‘is it me, is it something about me?’ But it’s not at all. It’s nothing about you. It’s all about them, the bullies."
Sadly if we do not stand up to bullies as children it can continue in to our adult lives and affect everything from our work lives to our love lives.
Even Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge was bullied as a teenager when she attended independent girls' school Downe House in Cold Ash, Berkshire, before leaving after two terms for Marlborough College. Her husband William said: "We all have a role to play to ensure that we do not standby, but instead stand up, and put a stop to bullying."
Celebrities including Sir Ben Kingsley, Will Poulter, Christopher Eccleston, Ben Cohen, James McVey from The Vamps and Niall from One Direction have also backed the campaign.
Research by YouGov commissioned by The Diana Award has shown that 81 per cent of people questioned reported that bullying was commonplace in school, with 64 per cent believing it is widespread throughout society, and 56 per cent reporting that bullying is commonplace at work.
The survey of 2,000 adults in Britain aged between 18 and 55 also revealed that over two thirds (67 per cent) knew someone who had been bullied, but just under a third of adults (32 per cent) said they had never challenged bullying behaviour. Proving that Prince William is right and drastic action needs to be taken.
Please contact: gabrielle.rowley@nwemail.co.uk if you have a hero who has stood up for you and want to share your story.
Amazing golden moment for student
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