Twenty percent of children experience bullying, and 16 percent of children are now victims of cyberbullying. We need to recognize that bullying is bullying whether it occurs in the school yard or on the internet, and we need to stop it.
As Prepared for Delivery
Thank you, Dr. [George] Sigounas, for that introduction. It’s great to be here today for this important gathering.
The Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention serve as a wonderful way to bring departments and agencies together to protect children across our country from bullying. Bullying has a profound effect on our kids and their mental health, a topic that doesn’t always get the attention it deserves.
That’s why I’m very happy that our First Lady is working so diligently on this issue and on behalf of our children.
We’re also grateful to HRSA for hosting this event. Alongside other parts of HHS, HRSA has played an important role in federal efforts on bullying prevention. In 2001, HRSA began the Stop Bullying Now! Campaign, which helped raise national awareness of bullying as a serious concern.
HRSA’s work complements anti-bullying efforts across HHS, especially at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA.
HHS runs StopBullying.gov, a trusted resource about bullying and bullying prevention, generating 12 million page views in the last year. HRSA and SAMHSA also provide tools and resources to state mental health departments and to parents directly that can help them identify and address bullying.
We have also paid special attention recently to children’s mental health issues, which are often connected to bullying.
As part of the Federal Commission on School Safety that the President convened earlier this year, HHS has been working to improve our policies and programs on children’s mental health.
Although 1 in 5 youth in the U.S. have a mental disorder, less than half receive the services they need. Students with mental health conditions are more likely to have lower grades, higher rates of absenteeism, and elevated dropout rates, while students who have accessed school-based mental healthcare services have been shown to have improved grades, attendance and physical and mental health outcomes.
Failing to provide the needed treatment for these conditions can put young people at risk for educational failure, obesity, smoking and other drug problems, and suicide. Bullying can cause feelings of hopelessness that lead to deeper mental health issues, and the same feelings can drive bullying, too. We should be making every effort to reach troubled children and help them find a path to happy, healthy lives.
That is why we are so glad that our First Lady has launched the Be Best initiative, to help address some of our children’s most serious challenges.
The First Lady has selected social media use as one of the areas of emphasis for her initiative and cyberbullying as a particular priority.
Twenty percent of children experience bullying, and 16 percent of children are now victims of cyberbullying. We need to recognize that bullying is bullying whether it occurs in the school yard or on the internet, and we need to stop it.
We look forward to hearing today about this topic from a range of experts, state and local officials, and industry leaders, as well as a student activist, Joseph Grunwald.
As leader of the Be Best campaign, Mrs. Trump has helped bring a ray of sunshine to children often facing dark times, while teaching everyone the importance of social, emotional and physical health.
I have had the opportunity to discuss these issues personally with the First Lady and I can say that her leadership on children’s issues has brought a truly significant level of new attention to them. I look forward to hearing what she has to say today.
So it is now my honor to introduce a great leader for America’s children, the First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump.
