The Friendship Project: Helping Today's girls form healthy peer relationships
Girls will be girl BULLIES; quietly and secretively. It's called relational aggression (RA), and it's a covert form of peer aggression flying beneath the radar of nearby adults, including parents and teachers. RA includes aggressive behaviors such as:
- exclusion
- malicious gossip
- rumor spreading
- taunting
- name calling
- alliance building
- covert physical aggression
- cyberbullying
Why this Worries Us
The cost of these attitudes exacts a heavy toll on each of us, especially our children, including:
- absenteeism from school
- eating disorders
- drug and alcohol abuse
- risky sexual behaviors
- depression
- low self esteem
- self mutilation (cutting and burning)
Commonly Held Beliefs
Often ignored by adults, this kind of abuse can become a form of emotional terrorism for a target. Adults often believe:
- Shunning, gossiping and "dissing" are simply a stage of girlhood that girls will eventually outgrow
- All girls go through it
- Somehow girls all manage to survive
- That's just how girls are
- Only girls do it
These "normative beliefs" can be found among professionals, parents, even among girls themselves.
Read Congresswoman carolyn mc carthy's press release about safe and drug free schools
Girlfest Bully Survey
The results of our bully survey are in and have been compiled and analyzed by Molloy College students Amy Dittler and Stephanie Visconti. Dr. Melissa Gebbia, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Molloy College, supervised the student's work.
Read the results of our survey.
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Bring the Friendship Project, a workshop series created by the Ophelia Project, to your troop. Contact Carole Aksak for more information.
A national nonprofit organization, the Ophelia Project is headquartered in Erie, Pennsylvania and has been creating safe social climates since 1997. It emerged as one community's decision to increase parental and community support for girls; we grew to become one of the nation's leading experts in identifying and addressing relational aggression in schools, the workplace and communities.
The Ophelia Project partners with educational, civic and community leaders to assess social conditions and advocate healthy peer relationships. Through community building, professional development and school programming, the Ophelia Project educates and empowers kids and adults across North America.
Visit their website www.opheliaproject.org