Speak Up – Silence Is a Bully’s Best Friend

Thirteen-year-old Breeanna DeGrove’s face, which had been full of youthful lightheartedness, suddenly takes on a sad countenance when the subject of school bullying comes up. “It started in the fourth grade. They started giving me a hard time verbally about my weight. They said some really hurtful things to me, and I kept silent for such a long time.” Breeanna, or Bree as most people know her, pauses for a moment, taking in the rainy view from a Starbuck’s on Jacksonville’s Northside. “Other kids saw what was going on, but they wouldn’t say anything, and some of them would join in.”

Breanna’s story is not unusual in Jacksonville, or in any place in America for that matter. Whether or not you buy into the notion that we’re in the midst of a bullying epidemic, the statistics speak for themselves: Between 1 in 4 and 1 in 3 U.S. students say they have been bullied at school, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ StopBullying.gov website. Meanwhile, only about 20 percent of students who are bullied, or who witness bullying, report it to someone. Bree says, “In my case, everybody kept silent about the bullying. I think some of them were afraid they would be messed with too.”

To address the chronic underreporting of bullying behavior and speak to a difficult-to-reach audience, one local advertising agency has joined forces with a non-profit advocacy group to create a campaign that uses some striking imagery to get its message across. “Silence Is a Bully’s Best Friend” addresses the bullying issue with a public service announcement – featuring middle-school students from LaVilla School of the Arts – that serves as the backbone of a television, online, print, and billboard campaign. “The focus and theme of our campaign is the idea of ‘speaking up’ and taking personal responsibility for putting an end to bullying behavior,” explains Diane Brunet-García, vice president of Brunet-García. “We want to stigmatize this (bullying) behavior among kids, and just as importantly, give them a plan of action on how to respond.”

The “Silence Is a Bully’s Best Friend” PSA shows a middle-age schoolboy being harassed and physically bullied in a school hallway while a group of  “mouthless” fellow students looks on. The PSA ends with the campaign tagline and a three-point call-to-action urging the audience to stop, help, tell – all ways witnesses to bullying can speak up. The imagery in the PSA is intense and the message is direct. Bree and her mom Jennifer DeGrove say they believe the campaign can be effective. “These days you really have to have something that grabs kids’ attention and is something they will talk about and share,” explains Jennifer. “Yeah, there is a certain shock element to the campaign, but I think it will draw attention and generate conversation, which is great.”

Mental Health America of Northeast Florida (MHA) is partnering with Brunet-Garcia to promote and disseminate the “Silence Is a Bully’s Best Friend” campaign. MHA President and CEO Denise Marzullo says the campaign’s target audience of bystanders can be agents of change in schools. “To really stop bullying, schools need to focus on changing their school climate – in other words, social norms and values – so that bullying is no longer acceptable to staff and students. That means getting the kids involved, “ explains Marzullo.

Rather than just be a victim, Bree set out to make a difference. After nearly two years of being bullied, she started “Bully Busters,” a club that raises awareness about bullying and gives students tips and strategies to prevent bullying at her school. “We had a kickoff meeting for the group, and we had a DJ and got close to 100 people to sign up for the club,” says Bree. “Once I really spoke out about it (bullying), it was like a chain reaction.”  There are now “Bully Buster” chapters in at least four other Duval County schools.

Denise Marzullo’s organization helped Bree get the “Bully Buster” club up and running, and she is encouraged by Bree’s efforts. “I think this is exactly what we need,” Marzullo says. “The message that she’s sending, and the message of the “Silence Is a Bully’s Best Friend” campaign, is that bullying is not okay, and it’s time to stand up against the bullies instead of just watching it take place.”

The “Silence Is a Bully’s Best Friend” PSA is currently airing on local broadcast television stations. The campaign’s website can be found at speakupstopbullying.org. To add your voice to the conversation, check out the “Silence Is a Bully’s Best Friend” Facebook page.