CAYMAN ISLANDS (GIS) – Civil servants took an eye-catching stand against all forms of bullying, Friday, 4 October 2019, at this year’s Stood Up photo opportunity.

The anti-bullying Dress for a Cause event, held a Pink Shirt shoot on the front steps of Government Administration Building, was attended by the Deputy Governor, Mr. Franz Manderson and the Director of Counselling Services Mrs. Judith Seymour.

Organised by the recently relocated Family Resource Centre (FRC), it was part of a month-long awareness-raising initiative themed “Change Starts with You.”

“The FRC’s Stood Up campaign is encouraging further dialogue on the issue, on our streets, in the media, and in our school classrooms. This initiative is one that really resonates with families who are experiencing bullying and with teachers and students,” said Mrs. Seymour.

“Our team at FRC does a tremendous amount of work in our communities and in our schools around the issue of anti-bullying awareness and programmes,” said Mr. Manderson.

“They are having an anti-bullying fair at the end of this month. Bullying is a serious issue and we really want to raise awareness throughout the Islands. In the Civil Service, we are rolling out an anti-bullying strategy at the end of this month. Civil servants have raised concerns about bullying, and we are keen to address those concerns. The Civil Service must take a zero-tolerance stance towards bullying. It is something we must never tolerate,” he concluded.

FRC Programme Facilitator Renee Ebanks confirmed that bullying was a problem that not only concerns children.

“We want to get across that bullying doesn’t just affect students, it affects and concerns parents, co-workers, the elderly and just about everyone in the community. Everyone has a role to play in bullying prevention, the Stood Up campaign is highlighting the importance of that,” she said.

  Ms Ebanks also outlined the campaign’s schedule throughout October, including a social media campaign, talk radio appearances and an anti-bullying workshop for parents.

“We’ve been working very closely within our schools to raise awareness of not only the physical but the long-term psychological damage of cyber bullying, and aggression. We are looking forward to seeing the anti-bullying projects on Saturday, 26 October, that the students have collaborated on to find solutions to these issues. Our role as an agency is to work holistically both with victims and their aggressors to eliminate this form of aggression in an effective and proactive manner,” she ended.

For the month-long 2019 Stood Up schedule, visit www.frc.gov.ky.