HRC warns bullies could breach constitution

| 04/05/2017 | 39 Comments

(CNS): Under the Cayman Islands’ Constitution a number of rights may be breached in situations involving bullying, the Human Rights Commission warned Thursday in a statement to mark Anti-Bullying Day. The commission identified bullying as one of the key issues it wants to address this year, saying, “There is a misconception that bullying is ‘just a part of growing up’. It is not and it never was.” 

Officials from the HRC said that bullying can breach several sections of the Bill of Rights, including section 3 – dealing with Torture and Inhuman Treatment; section 9 – dealing with Private and Family Life; section 16 – dealing with Non-discrimination; section 17 – dealing specifically with the Protection of Children; and section 20 – dealing with Education.

Bullying can involve physical violence, verbal abuse and cyber-bullying through email, messaging or social media.

“These non-physical bullying behaviours can often have an even more harrowing impact. With the advent of cyber-bullying a victim can be taunted constantly; in their own home, at weekends, when away on holiday. The constant bombardment of victims without respite can be particularly demoralising and for many of its victims it is not something that they can just shrug off or ignore – it can become utterly devastating,” the commission said.

Studies by Yale University have found that victims of bullying are between two and nine times as likely to report suicidal thoughts and a 2008 UK study found that nearly half of suicides among 10 – 14 year olds were due to bullying. Experts say bullying causes loneliness, depression and anxiety and can have an impact on academic performance, increased school dropout and lasting consequences for children.

“Bullying directly undermines the fundamental idea that all human beings share an inherent dignity. Children’s prejudices and ideas of what is acceptable behaviour invariably reflect those of the rest of society, and for that reason bullying is not just a children’s issue but one for all of us,” the HRC said in its message.  “Turning a blind eye to the culture of cruelty that bullying seeks to perpetuate lends support to the belief that some sorts of abuse or discrimination are permissible.”

The focus of bullying is often on children, but it can take place in other environments, including the workplace, and adults can be victims.

To mark the UN Anti-Bullying Day the Commission has prepared a resource packet for parents, teachers and students that discusses what bullying is, what the potential consequences are, and provides suggested strategies on how to tackle it.

The information is available on the HRC website or a printed version can be requested by emailing info@humanrightscommission.ky or calling 244-3685.

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Comments (39)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Could Breach my human rights? It does, but will anything be done? No. Surely the driftwood incident showed that.

  2. Anonymous says:

    Sad to say, bullying is rife in government. It is not always the big hate statements. Time and again it works by denying a renewal of contract if you try to hold people accountable, upset the wrong person or basically try to implement much needed changes. Even when there is a clear case of bullying nothing gets done about it. Is this a HR problem? No, it is an island wide problem happening at every level.

  3. Anonymous says:

    How about politicians and churches bullying gay people ?

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  4. Anonymous says:

    Here in Cayman we have one of the biggest cyber bullies in the world who proclaims she is a community activist. She has gotten off a few court cases and lost one to ICTA Abuse. Cannot wait til she gets sent to prison for the countless lives she has ruined. So in short yes bullying is a real problem.

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    • Anonymous says:

      What about the loudmouth on NS? She has ruined countless lives over the years, yet there she is, still mouthing off on behalf of every other ‘Caymanian’ bigot that hates.
      Thank god there are more good than bad, because she doesn’t represent me or my people.

  5. Anonymous says:

    Is this fake news? It’s certainly a fake problem.

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  6. Anonymous says:

    I know bullying is wrong but, i’ll never understand cyberbullying with the majority of these social media sites offering options to block unwanted mail.

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  7. My heart is pure and my hands are clean says:

    If there were no geeks, dorks, or nerds there would be no need for bullies! Lets crack down on these whimps and bullying will be no more.

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  8. Robert says:

    genetics can and do play a role in this , not just bad parenting , some kids are born bad , their are many parents in this world that have been killed by their own children , and not because of just mental health , look it up !

    • Anonymous says:

      Yea Robert, some kids are born rockstars too.

      • Robert says:

        Adolph Hitlers mother was Jewish , as I say some people are just born bad

        • Anonymous says:

          Your point? If kids are born bad then would that mean their kids might be born good?
          Some kids are born bad but can have good kids?

          Meaning they still brought good into this world…

  9. Anonymous says:

    Quick question, can adults be bullied as well? Or is bullying only a term to applied to people enrolled in school or currently under the age of 18? What about a 40 year old man being constantly bullied by younger people? Does the fact that he is 40 mean he should be able to “man up” and absorb it… or is it still bullying? Just curious as to what the definition of “bullying” actually is.

  10. Anonymous says:

    The headline shows a complete misunderstanding about what is being said. Constitutional rights are vertical rights not horizontal ones. A failing by the CIG to legislate for bullying and enforce that law properly may be a breach of the Constitution. A bully does not breach the constitution (unless they are civil servant acting on behalf of the state).

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  11. Anonymous says:

    Cayman Christians do this quite often, some from a position of power and immunity

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  12. Anonymous says:

    HRC come on you can do better than this

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    • Anonymous says:

      Care to elaborate?

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      • Anonymous says:

        Well, why do they always parrot the latest EU socialist bull? They are unfortuately a waste of oxygen.

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        • Anonymous says:

          Oh, I see. I supposes it’s fortunate then that we’ve still got you speaking up on important issues with informed and helpful contributions…

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        • Anonymous says:

          Oh go on, give us some examples of their “EU socialist bull”. Let’s see if we can get this monkey to climb higher up the tree.

  13. Anonymous says:

    Politicians and their puppet cronies do it all the time against expat residents, status holders and foreign workers.
    Bigotry, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, nationalism, self entitlement and good old envy all play their part in Cayman society when some politicians open their ever open, yet uneducated mouths.

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  14. Anonymous says:

    It is very common in the workplace too, especially with government heads with their sense of entitlement and connections.

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  15. Anonymous says:

    Bullying is one of the biggest problems in the public schools. It needs to end!

    • Anonymous says:

      It’s in the private schools too and not just students; teachers are bullying your children!

      This must be ousted immediately.

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      • Nunya says:

        Amen – especially the Primary kids that are so young and can’t stand up for themselves. Teachers will scream at the kids when they think parents aren’t around.

        I’ve always said if you won’t talk to a child like that with a parent standing near then that might be an indication that you should not speak to that child(ren) in that manner at all!!!

      • Anonymous says:

        The bullying policy does not cover private schools. It is only for public schools.

  16. Ankh Life says:

    Stop forcing SOCIETY on the YOUTH and this can be avoided, let them be who they want to be, say what they want to say, become who they will become – because all of you are hard working, elegant and pristine beings.

    Stop trying to shape the future that you don’t even control for yourselves.

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  17. Anonymous says:

    It is allowed, regardless of law.

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