AFFW Helps Girl Scouts of Black Hawk Council Power Up to Beat Bullying

By: Cheryl Osinga
Bullying is a prevalent problem today. It happens in and out of school, and the consequences for children are more serious than ever before. Statistics suggest that a child is bullied every seven minutes, and that adults rarely intervene. There is also a growing trend of bullying among girls.

The Girl Scouts of Black Hawk Council recognized that girls face some unique challenges where bullying is concerned, and set out to find a way to help. In 2008, the Council received an AFFW grant to implement Power Up, a program designed to help girls deal with different forms of bullying, including verbal, social, physical, and intellectual—in an effective and positive way.

Sarah Byer, Power Up program coordinator, explains that bullying among girls can be hard to recognize. "Girls engage in a far more subtle form of bullying than the physical bullying that boys often engage in." More common among girls is social, or relational, bullying. This type of bullying involves spreading rumors, excluding, isolating, name-calling, gossiping, and even eye-rolling. "Many girls don't realize relational bullying is actually bullying. It used to be looked at as simply part of growing up, but the truth is that bullying in any form can have severe short- and long-term consequences for everyone involved: the bully, the target, and the bystander," said Byer.

Power Up helps girls understand the different roles people play in a bullying scenario: bully, target, bystander, defender, ignorer, reinforcer, and assistant. The girls spend time role-playing, which gives them the opportunity to practice being the bully, target, and defender (bystander) in a safe environment. This activity has often been one of the favorites of Power Up. Power Up also gives girls ideas for things to say that are short, don't engage the bully or escalate the situation, and help the target get out of the situation.

Byer also points out that most other bullying prevention programs don't address the role of the bystander. Power Up helps girls learn concrete tools they can use to make a difference when they witness bullying happening around them.

The Girl Scouts' initial goal for Power Up was to involve 300 girls, grades 4 through 12, in the first year and then expand to offer the program council-wide. To date, over 450 girls have participated in the Power Up program. This has been through large group events, as well as smaller troop sessions with trained Power Up facilitators. Byer says that the response from troop leaders and from the participants has been very positive.

For more than 80 years, the local Girl Scouts of Black Hawk Council has helped girls build relationships, develop personal values, explore the world, and gain leadership skills. Their partnership with AFFW is allowing them to continue empowering local girls.