Did you witness or experience hate, discrimination, bullying or harassment?
Here’s who you can talk to:
- Your principal, guidance counselor, teacher or a trusted adult
- Safe Schools Anonymous Reporting Tool
- Office of the Human Rights and Equity Advisor
- Community supports and resources
If you witness hate, discrimination or bullying, it’s important to remember that you are not powerless.
You can stop hate and bullying from spreading in your school, community and online.
No one deserves to be attacked for who they are.
If you witness hate or bullying, here's what you can do to help.
- Report it to your teacher, principal, a trusted adult, OCDSB Safe Schools Reporting Tool, or anyone who can help.
- Speak out: If it’s safe to do so, say, "That's not ok!" Speak out and interrupt bullying, violence, harassment, hate or discrimination (see Interrupting harm below).
- If it doesn’t feel safe, look for someone who can help.
- Be kind: Comfort the person who was hurt. Let them know what happened was not fair or deserved. Be a friend. Ask what you can do to help. Simple acts of kindness make a tremendous difference.
- Stop the spread of online content, videos or images that cause further harm. Unfollow hateful accounts or groups. Report harmful content.
Interrupting harm
A few simple words can help stop discrimination, hate or bullying. You can also let someone who is harmed know there are people out there who care and they are not alone.
Advice for students:
If you are a student, you can interrupt immediately or after the harm has ended. You can do this alone or bring others to help you.
Before you interrupt, it’s important to consider that you do not want to put yourself or anyone else in danger. Here are a few questions to think about:
- Is there potential for violence? Are there dangerous items nearby?
- Are there others that can help?
- Can I seek urgent help if needed?
- Look and listen to body language. What facial expressions, verbal and physical cues are you observing from the aggressor, victim and other bystanders?
- Will interrupting escalate the situation and possibly make things worse?
Direct interruption should be short and clearly expressed. Avoid dialogue, debate, or an argument that can escalate the situation.
Say: “Leave them alone,” “Please stop,” “That makes people feel uncomfortable,” “I agree with Ahmed that those words are harmful.”
Focus your attention on the person being harmed. If you witness someone being harmed, focus your attention on assisting the person who was harmed, instead of engaging with the person harming.
If and when it is safe to do so, you might choose to:
- Ignore the person who is harming another person.
- Speak directly with the person who is being harmed.
- Create a distraction from what is happening by talking about something completely different (e.g. the weather), or “accidentally” spilling or dropping something to shift the attention away from the incident.
- Create distance between the two people. You can do this by casually walking between them if it is safe to do so.
While harm may have been caused, you can still make a real difference by letting the person affected know you care.
You might:
- Ask if they’re okay. Let them know you saw what happened, and it wasn’t fair or deserved.
- Ask if there’s any way you can help or support them.
- Accompany, walk, or just sit with them for a few minutes.
- Share information about places of support (a teacher, guidance counselor, Kids Help Phone, etc.)
- Offer to help them report the incident.
Say: “I saw/ heard what happened. It’s not okay. Can I help you go to the guidance office or help in some other way?”
Advice for adults:
If you witness someone facing hate, harassment, bullying or discrimination, don’t ignore, laugh or walk away. Be brave and interrupt. Approach the situation with a calm, respectful tone and non-confrontational stance.
- Remember to use respectful behaviour.
- Please don’t say that here.
- That comment could be hurtful, so it’s not a joke,
- I heard you say a harmful word to _________.
- We need to avoid using language that reinforces stereotypes.
- What you just said is hurtful and damaging.
- That comment is harmful, so it’s not funny.
- That is not acceptable language, so please stop.
- Saying that doesn’t make others feel safe.
- Using put-downs like that upsets me.
Good questions to interrupt. Remember to lead with curiosity and empathy, not accusatory.
- Could you explain what you mean by that?
- Have you thought about the impact of your words?
- Is that fair to say?
- What evidence do you have to support that?
- What makes you say that?
- Did you mean to say something harmful when you said that?
- I don’t find what you said to be funny.
- I believe that it’s important to avoid making assumptions about groups of people.
- Using that word as a put-down really upsets me.
- I wonder what you meant by your words and if you understand how it makes others feel?
- I think that language is harmful and damaging to others.
- I feel uncomfortable when language like that is used.
- I think it's important to be mindful of the impact of words like that on others.
- “But he’s my friend.”
Friends do not use hurtful and damaging words to each other. - “I was just joking around.”
I don’t find that funny. There’s nothing funny about that harmful language.
“We say it to each other.”
I find it upsetting and many others do too. - “I didn’t mean anything by it. I didn't mean to hurt her.”
You may not have meant to cause harm, but it is important to be mindful of the impact your words can have. - “We joke like this all the time.”
Using put-downs like that is harmful. Let’s use language that is inclusive and respectful.
If you hear someone else interrupt, echo their response. Voices against bias, discrimination, hate or bullying are stronger together.
- I agree with James. Using words like that doesn’t make others feel welcome and accepted here.
- Ahmed is right. That’s not okay.
- I don’t find that funny either. It’s hurtful.
- That’s a great point. Let’s be mindful of how our words can impact others.
- I agree with Sherri. That’s harmful.
- I agree, using language like that doesn’t make others feel safe.