Bullying in schools has been an issue since the dawn of time. Even though we're doing more and more to prevent bullying, it sure seems as if we'll never see it end. At least, that's what I think every time I read another sad headline featuring a child who was taunted and shamed by classmates in a particularly callous way. And that's exactly what I thought when I heard this story of an 8-year-old from South Philadelphia, whose bullies went so far as to cut her hair, according to her mother.
The alleged incident happened April 24 at Commodore John Barry Elementary School, but the girl's mom says the bullying has been a problem for a while.
Speaking with ABC 6 Action News, Yamina Zahir said that her daughter Amina has been teased mercilessly by classmates for more than a year. Still, she was shocked when her daughter came home from school Wednesday with a large chunk of hair missing from the back of her head.
She was even more outraged when Amina told her that she reported the incident to a teacher, saying that another female student took scissors to her hair, but the 8-year-old said the teacher did nothing.
“Who would do something like that?” Yamina said. “If you could see the back of my daughter’s head, she doesn’t have any hair there.”
That's when Yamina's inner mama bear kicked in, and she went to both the teacher and school counselor.
However, the mom said that no action was taken, so she called the police to the school. But if she was hoping for action from that, she was sorely mistaken.
"Nothing is happening," the mother told the news station. "Nothing is being addressed. Someone is really going to get hurt out of this situation. She could've stabbed my daughter. Anything could've happened. She cut my daughter's hair off. Who would do something like that?"
But in a strange turn of events, the School District of Philadelphia responded to Action News this week with a frustrating answer.
According to the school district, there was no record of bullying in official reports and their investigation found "no evidence" that the incident happened on school grounds.
"The safety of our students is our number one priority," said Lee Whack, deputy chief of communications for the school district. "The school has investigated this matter. They found no evidence the hair cutting took place at the school. We at the school district take bullying very seriously. The school has no official reports of bullying involving this student."
When pressed whether there was evidence of bullying in general, the school district did not elaborate. “School staff are committed to working with the student and her family to ensure a safe, welcoming and inclusive learning environment for her and all students,” a spokesperson told Yahoo Lifestyle.
In the meantime, the girl's mother has filed a police report, so time will tell whether that investigation turns up anything further.
Still, the story highlights just how prevalent bullying in schools has become. In fact, a 2017 survey from the Human Rights Campaign found that it was on the rise — and the methods are only getting more creative, thanks to social media.
And make no mistake, it is serious. The long-term affects of being bullied include depression, alcohol and substance abuse, and even suicide. In fact, things have escalated so much that a town in upstate New York passed a law in 2017 that threatens parents with a fine if their kids are found guilty of bullying. (Needless to say, that law has been pretty controversial.)
Although the details of this case remain a bit foggy, one thing's for sure: We may be making strides in preventing bullying among children, but it's clear that there's still so much left to do.
