Kandersteg Declaration Against Bullying in Children and Youth

We the participants at the Joint Efforts Against Victimization Conference in Kandersteg in June 8th to 10th, 2007 pledge our long term commitment and determination to promote healthy relationships and prevent bullying and victimization in children and youth.

Considerations

• Today, an estimated 200 million children and youth around the world are being abused by their peers.
• Every child and youth has the right to be respected and safe. Bullying is a violation of this basic human right.
• It is the moral responsibility of adults to ensure these rights are honored and that healthy development and citizenship are promoted. Many adults want more understanding and strategies to address bullying problems effectively.
• Bullying is a form of aggression, involving the abuse of power in relationships. It is recognized globally as a complex and serious problem. It has many faces, including the use of emerging technologies, and varies by age, gender, and culture.
• Children and youth involved in bullying suffer. Bullying and victimization problems begin early in life and for some last a lifetime.
• Many risk and protective factors associated with bullying are known and prevention programs are being implemented in several countries with encouraging results.
• The mental and physical health, social, and academic consequences of bullying have an enormous impact on human and social capital. The costs of bullying burden our education, health care, social services, and criminal justice systems, as well as work force productivity and innovation.
• Bullying concerns and affects us all.

Actions to be taken

• Stop bullying now in all the places where children and youth live, work, and play.
• Start prevention efforts early and continue these through childhood and adolescence, targeting known risk and protective factors and promoting healthy relationships.
• Educate and empower all adults involved with children and youth to promote healthy relationships and prevent bullying.
• Use policy and prevention programs, based on scientific research, that are appropriate for age, gender, and culture, and that involve families, peers, schools, and communities.
• Provide ongoing assessment and monitoring necessary to evaluate the success of policy and programs and to guarantee the rights of children and youth.

Kandersteg, Switzerland, June 10, 2007

Almeida, Ana Maria	University of Minho, Portugal	anatalmeida@gmail.com
Alsaker, Françoise D.	University of Berne, Switzerland	francoise.alsaker@psy.unibe.ch
Boivin, Michel	University of Laval, Canada	michel.boivin@psy.ulaval.ca
Brendgen, Mara	University of Québec, Canada	brendgen.mara@uquam.ca
Clémence, Alain	University of Lausanne, Switzerland	alain.clemence@unil.ch
Craig, Wendy	Queen’s University, Canada	craigw@post.queensu.ca
Cross, Donna	Edith Cowan University, Australia	d.cross@ecu.edu.au
Flammer, August	University of Berne, Switzerland	august.flammer@psy.unibe.ch
Gutzwiller, Evelyne	University of Lucerne, Switzerland	eveline.gutzwiller@phz.ch
Hymel, Shelley	University of British Columbia, Canada	shelley.hymel@ubc.ca
Kwak, Keumjoo	Seoul National University, South Korea	kjkwak@snu.ac.kr
Ladd, Gary	Arizona State University, USA	gary.ladd@asu.edu
Lauper, Dorothee	University of Berne, Switzerland	dorothee.lauper@psy.unibe.ch
Menesini, Ersilia	University of Florence, Italy	menesini@psico.unifi.it
Nägele, Christof	Federal Institute of Vocational Training, Switzerland	christof.naegele@ehb-schweiz.ch
Ortega Ruiz, Rosario	University of Cordoba, Spain	ed1orrur@uco.es
Pepler, Debra	York University, Canada	pepler@yorku.ca
Perren, Sonja	University of Zurich, Switzerland	perren@jacobscenter.unizh.ch
Roland, Erling	University of Stavanger, Norway	erling.roland@uis.no
Salmivalli, Christina	University of Turku, Finland	tiina.salmivalli@utu.fi
Smith, Peter	University of London, UK	pss01pks@gold.ac.uk
Spiel, Christiane	University of Vienna, Austria	christiane.spiel@univie.ac.at
Strohmeier, Dagmar	University of Vienna, Austria	dagmar.strohmeier@univie.ac.at
Vaillancourt, Tracy	McMaster University, Canada	vaillat@mcmaster.ca
Valkanover, Stefan	University of Berne, Switzerland	Stefan.valkanover@ispw.unibe.ch
Veenstra, René	University of Groningen, Netherlands	d.r.veenstra@rug.nl

We kindly ask our ESDP members and any other persons who feel committed to this important issue to translate this declaration into their national languages and send the translated version to

Françoise D. Alsaker
University of Berne, Switzerland
francoise.alsaker@psy.unibe.ch