The recent stir concerning teen bully in school campus has raised a red flag toward many concern groups. Consequently, an increasing number of proactive attempts have called forth to combat this age-old teen challenge among those who are commonly labeled as "nerd", the weak and unpopular. We, at the HKCS, share the rage and respond promptly.

Bullying, a form of verbal and physical harassment and intimidation that advocates "the survival of the fittest" in a twisted sense, undoubtedly carries a certain level of negative and damaging effects on those who are victimized. To support the combat of such practice of violence in and outside of school campus, our Youth Integrated Team has initiated a series of activities targeting to draw young people together in unity and to fight against this destructive force amongst their peers.

One of these activities was 'The Yellow Ribbon Movement & Alliance of the Righteous'. Our social workers began the movement in Shamshuipo by collecting signatures from the residents in the protest of School Bully. Forty-two campuses in 4 different school districts also joined in to form such alliance in advocating the positive message of love and peace in school. Some ardent members of our youth integrated team and students from other outfits simultaneously formed an anti-bully care group to promote the same message while a website for free expressions among their peers on this issue was set in motion by this group of keen youngsters.

On 21 February, we co-organized a discussion panel on "Teenage Bully" with the Radio Television Hong Kong, hoping to rouse a greater awareness on the issue from the community. Besides our own social worker, other panel members included professionals such as school principal; educational psychologist and legal representative. Close to a hundred teenagers attended that event where some of the feelings from actual experiences or friends of victims were openly and boldly shared.

Our School Social Work Service has been working closely with schools and therefore not only does it understand, but also has it great compassion over such issue. As a result, we tailor made a seminar on 16 March for school personnel (i.e., school principal, counselor and staff) to deal with the bully issue by addressing the school's legal responsibility, introducing effective ways to prevent such behavior among students and bringing in advises from the police department. Furthermore, we put up a training workshop on 29 March for teachers to learn some practical and effective skills in handling difficult parents.

While "Bully at School" has been a neglected problem for a long time. Victims have since fallen into quiet destruction and lives have been destroyed as a result of the society's failure to recognize the depth of its negative impact. It is time for a united front formed by all concern parties including parents, schools, social and professional groups to face and strive to eliminate this subtle yet deadly force that infiltrates among our children.