IV 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 908 

Expressing support for designation of October 2016 as ‘‘Bullying Prevention 

Month’’. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2016 

Mr. HONDA (for himself, Mr. POCAN, Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of California, 

Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. CLARKE of New York, and Mr. 

GARAMENDI) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing support for designation of October 2016 as 

‘‘Bullying Prevention Month’’. 

Whereas bullying is the activity of repeated, aggressive behavior intended to emotionally or physically harm another 

person that involves a real or perceived imbalance of 

power; 

Whereas bullying includes— 

(1) verbal bullying, including teasing, name-calling, 

inappropriate comments, taunting, and threatening to 

cause harm; 

(2) social or relational bullying, or the attempt to 

damage a person’s reputation or relationships; and 


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(3) physical bullying, or attempts and success in 

harming a person physically or damaging their personal 

possessions; 

Whereas bullying includes harassment that may occur over 

the Internet, in the workplace, schools, homes, nursing 

homes, and within social settings; 

Whereas judgment and discrimination against others may be 

based on a person’s actual or perceived race or ethnicity, 

physical, mental or emotional ability status, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, religion, or age; 

Whereas a disproportionate number of individuals with disabilities, individuals with body image issues, individuals 

of religious minorities, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Native Americans, and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer 

community report experiencing daily discrimination; 

Whereas nearly 1 in 3 students report being bullied during 

the school year, and only 36 percent of these students reported the bullying; 

Whereas 160,000 children around the United States stay 

home from school each day because of bullying and fear 

of bullying; 

Whereas nearly 43 percent of all young people report experiencing cyberbullying, and 1 in 4 has had it happen more 

than once; 

Whereas cyberbullying occurs on social media and online and 

is used to— 

(1) threaten and harass individuals; 

(2) ‘‘out’’ or expose personal information and photographs; 


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(3) victim blame and survivor shame, especially in 

the cases of sexual harassment and assault; and 

(4) make inflammatory comments or masquerade as 

an individual to harm their reputation or character; 

Whereas 80 percent of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, 

and queer teenagers reported being bullied at school, and 

42 percent of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and 

queer teenagers reported feeling unsafe at school because 

of their gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation; 

Whereas 82 percent of transgender youth report that they 

feel unsafe at school, 44 percent had been physically assaulted, 67 percent had been bullied online, and 64 percent had reported their property stolen or destroyed; 

Whereas 35 percent of people in the United States report 

being bullied on the job, the majority of whom report 

being bullied by their bosses or another person of power; 

Whereas the majority of workplace bullying is directed at 

women and racial minorities, predominantly HispanicAmericans, African-Americans, and Asian-Americans; 

Whereas 1 in 5 elders have experienced hostile animosity 

from their peers in a group setting; 

Whereas more than 500,000 reported accounts and millions 

of unreported accounts of elder abuse occur in homes, in 

relatives’ homes, and in facilities responsible for their 

care; 

Whereas people of all ages, groups, and backgrounds may be 

victims of bullying, marginalization, and discrimination, 

and bullying may lead to or worsen depression, anxiety, 

and social isolation, which can lead to thoughts of suicide 

or suicidal behavior; 


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Whereas discrimination and bullying have serious and lasting 

effects on the physical, emotional, and mental health of 

an individual, families, on organizational stability in 

schools and businesses, and on the well-being of society 

as a whole; 

Whereas bullying can be eliminated by creating a culture that 

supports ‘‘upstanders’’, a name for those who stand 

against bullying and bullies, and society needs to promote 

a positive way to talk about bullying; and 

Whereas October 2016 would be an appropriate month to 

designate as ‘‘Bullying Prevention Month’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports 

2 the designation of ‘‘Bullying Prevention Month’’ in order 

3 to— 

4 (1) acknowledge the harmful impact of bullying 

5 and of judging others based on appearance or group 

6 affiliation; 

7 (2) promote respect and support everyone’s 

8 right to be who he or she is without being shamed, 

9 judged, or attacked; and 

10 (3) support the addition of the term 

11 ‘‘upstander’’ to our shared language to recognize 

12 those who stand up to bullying and the value of posi13 tive language and its ability to change behavior. 

Æ 


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