Bullying Prevention Toolkit
The FYI’s Bullying of Muslim Youth Report
Due to an increasingly divisive socio-political climate, bullying of American Muslim children and adolescents is on the rise and occurs across various contexts within their lives. Given the challenges that American Muslim youth face, it is imperative to intervene from multiple avenues to buffer the impact of bullying and harassment.
7 Ways to Support Muslim Youth Facing Bullying
How do you know if your child is being bullied? What is the percentage of bullying incidents against American Muslim youth?
The FYI's Infographic: Bullying and Its Impact on Muslim Kids
55% of Muslim students have reported that they have been bullied because of their religion. This number is twice the national average. Even more concerning is that 1 in 4 of those incidents was by school teachers, administrators, or staff! Between 2016 and 2017, there was a 91% increase in hate crimes against Muslims. These numbers are heartbreaking, concerning, and strong call to action.
Your Child is Being Bullied Online – How to Spot it and How to Stop It
While Aleena once enjoyed school, she now looks for any excuse to avoid her online classes. She now flinches at any notifications and has dropped off of her once active social media accounts. What is cyberbullying? What does it look like in today’s world of virtual learning?
Resources for Parents
Know what bullying looks like and how to respond.
While more than one in four children say they have experienced being bullied, only 20-30 percent of those children ever report it to an adult. The startling statistic can be troublesome for parents, leaving many wondering how to know if their child is being bullied and what they should do about it. Click here to watch the video.
- Know what it looks like when your child is being bullied
- Worried that your child is a bully? Read this article to learn about what is really behind the bullying behavior and how to teach him/her to have healthy relationships
- Learn about how bullying impacts your child but also everyone around him/her.
- Learn what to say and what NOT to say when your child experiences bullying.
- Recognize these misconceptions about bullying so that you don’t fall into the trap of minimizing the effects of this behavior
- Follow this flowchart to help you determine if the behavior is bullying or not
- Every bad interaction is not bullying. Check out this article to understand the difference between teasing and bullying
- Avoid blaming your child for their experiences
- Empower, uplift, and promote resilience in your child so they can power through and grow from their experiences
- If the bullying is based on religion (i.e. Islamophobic incidents), make sure to report this behavior to CAIR
- Read more about how one mother helped her daughter overcome cyberbullying
Resources for School Administrators
Here's how you can help.
Strategies for Educators, Counselors and Community Members to Build Protective Factors for America’s Muslim Youth
This webinar focused on strategies to help participants create protective factors and pro-social opportunities for our nation’s Muslim youth. Presenters discussed adolescent development, positive youth development, and how to create safe and accepting academic and community environments for Muslim youth. Dr. Sameera Ahmed of The FYI was joined by Robert Butts, LaMont Lyons, Dr. Richard Kreipe, and Deepa Bhandaru. Click here to watch the video.
Helping Educators and Counselors Prevent Bullying of and Discrimination against our Nation’s Muslim Youth from The Office of Juvenile Justice
In this webinar (recording) The Family and Youth Institute collaborated with Department of Education, Department of Justice, Department of Health & Human Services, and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to discuss civil rights, bullying and harassment, basic cultural competence, behavioral health implications of bullying, and resources for assisting America’s Muslim youth. Click here to view or read the transcript.
The Role of the Educator in Protecting Muslim Youth from StopBullying.Gov
Classrooms and schools should provide learning environments that are not only free from discrimination and harassment based on protected traits — including religion — but should also be conduits for students to build bridges with other students across different backgrounds, break down stereotypes, acknowledge and affirm important aspects of their identity, and learn how to be an ally when faced with bullying and bias. Click here to read more.
Bullying Prevention Guide from Islamic Networks Group (ING)
As Muslim parents and social activists work to create a better society and world for our children, ING created this Bullying Prevention Guide as a tool for parents, teachers, school administrators, and community members in the hope that it will help prevent the bullying of students in public and private schools, including full-time and weekend Islamic schools. Click here to read more.
Know Your Classmates
Know Your Classmates is a curriculum, a campaign, and a national awareness day designed to create and nurture healthy and open relationships between classmates, particularly focused on middle school students, from the moment school starts this fall. Click here to read more.
Additional Resources for Educators
Twenty Plus Things Schools Can Do to Respond to or Prevent Hate Incidents Against Arab-Americans, Muslims, and Sikhs.
Follow this flowchart to help you to determine if the behavior is bullying or not.
Here’s how to work with students to build a resilience mindset
- How to promote a positive school climate
Resources for Youth
Here's what you should know.
More on Cyberbullying
How to spot it and stop it.
As our children spend more time online, they are more susceptible to cyberbullying. Parents must be proactive to ensure their child’s safety online. Refer to the following resources for support:
- Here are 10 steps adults can take to protect young people from cyberbullying
- Be aware of how COVID-19 might be causing cyberbullying
- Empower our kids to respond well to cyberbullying
- Teach them about netiquette
- Read more about how one mother helped her daughter overcome cyberbullying
More Resources from The FYI
Six Ways to Better Your Relationship with Youth
Did you know that young people with mentors are less likely to engage in risky behaviors?
The FYI's Muslim Youth Identity Bulletin
This bulletin summarizes research on Muslim youth identity development in a digestible way.
Risk Behaviors Among American Muslim Youth
What to know about American Muslim college students and risk behaviors, all in one infographic.
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