California Senate in US okays centre for prevention of bullying

Monday, 03/06/2013

http://epaper.dailypostindia.com/Details.aspx?id=71493&boxid=57772&uid=&dat=2013-06-03

Fatehgarh Sahib : The California Senate in United States has passed the United Sikhs Co-Sponsored Bill (231) to establish a California Bullying Prevention Coordinating Centre.

The centre shall address issues relating to bullying and peer abuse, with a particular focus on issues that impact pupils in kindergarten, grades 1 to 12, their families, peers, and communities. United Sikhs is a leading body of Sikhs in United States.

Manmeet Singh, Staff Attorney, International Civil and Human Rights Advocacy (ICHRA) of the United Sikhs, in a communication, said, “Post 9/11, Sikhs have been on the target of hate crimes and increased racial discrimination at school. These problems have increased the need for spreading awareness about Sikhs and ensuring that the innocent Sikhs are not wrongly labelled or discriminated against.”

“Studies have shown that bullying is incredibly destructive for both the bully and those being bullied; bullies often later resort to more major offenses and displays of violence, including vandalism, assault, and even murder whereas those being bullied suffer from a lack of self-esteem and confidence for many years, sometimes to a crippling degree,” he added.

Dr Seema Kaur, national director, United Sikhs, gave her testimony in support of SB 231 at the Education Committee hearing with specific reference to Sikh youth bullying and peer abuse.

“I am very grateful for the opportunity to stand in solidarity with the BRAVE Society, legislators, and supporters of SB 231. I am here with my family, not only to show my support as a physician and a National Director of ‘United Sikhs’, but as a Sikh American mother who wishes to address the issue of bullying as it affects Sikh youth and all children in every community,” said Kaur.

“The turban worn by my husband and other Sikh men covers their uncut hair, an article of Sikh faith. I want my children to be able to wear this and other articles of our faith, as they walk down the hallways of their school, with pride and not fear. I implore all of you to support this bill,” she asked the senators during her testimony.

This bill is also known as Michael Joseph Berry Peer Abuse Prevention and Awareness Act of 2013. More than four years after her son, Michael Joseph Berry, a victim of bullying - shot himself in a school bathroom, his mother Lisa Ford Berry became the founder of BRAVE.