Holding Bullies Accountable: The Case for Implementing a Bully Registry

Exploring solutions for long-term change in bullying behavior

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Bullying.

Not many other words evoke such strong reactions in most people as bullying.

Most people have had an encounter with a bully.

Perhaps you have had a boss in your workplace who said terrible things to you and made you feel like you were never good enough. You could not leave this job because there were no opportunities to find other work, and you have a family to support.

Perhaps you had a coworker who delighted in tearing you down. Where did you turn? Did you ever come out on top? Sadly, I don’t think you did.

Perhaps you remember being in high school and being stuffed into a locker?

Maybe you were always the butt of the joke?

Perhaps your daughter was slut-shamed after she went on one date with the wrong boy?

Perhaps your son was accused of actions he didn’t commit?

Perhaps you or your child were the victim of online bullying. Maybe they had a fake profile created for them, and private and embarrassing videos and images were sent around to their whole community.

One of my daughters has been bullied her whole school life.

You can read this post to understand the road she walks daily.

I never wanted to be the mother who always sent emails to the schools or made phone calls to discuss issues.

I resent this role.

I want to be kept off the radar and not be the constant flashing light on hold or the phone, waiting for the school heads to listen to the latest situation that has presented itself.

But if I don’t advocate for my daughter, who will?

I could give a million examples, but we all know what bullying is and that it is not okay.

The most challenging thing for a person who has been bullied to understand is why the bullies always end up getting away with it.

Why are they never held accountable?

Where is their comeuppance?

Why do they not suffer the consequences of their actions? Why do they get to walk away unscathed while the person they have victimized has to heal from their wounds?

This is a topic I have discussed at length with so many of my friends who are also parents.

Everyone always agrees that something needs to be done. Something has to change.

I have thought about this a lot, and I’ve come up with an idea.

A Bully Registry.

Have you ever wondered if there was a way to track bullies as we do with other serious offenders?

Imagine a world with a Bully Registry, a system designed to flag individuals who have repeatedly engaged in bullying.

I know this might sound a bit extreme at first, but I’ll explain.

Think about it — we have various systems for monitoring behaviours that society deems unacceptable or harmful.

For instance, the sex offender registry. It’s there to alert the public to protect potential victims by making them aware of individuals who have committed specific offenses in the past. So, why not consider a similar approach for chronic bullies?

The concept of a Bully Registry wouldn’t be about branding someone for life for a single mistake or a childish misstep.

We all know kids can be mean sometimes without realizing the long-term impact of their words or actions. Instead, this registry could focus on those who engage in persistent, harmful bullying behaviour. This leaves deep emotional scars on their victims.

Imagine if schools, sports clubs, and other organizations had access to this registry.

It could be a game-changer in how we handle bullying.

Administrators could be more informed and vigilant, integrating targeted interventions to help reform the bully’s behaviour while offering additional support to those they’ve harmed.

Of course, many legal, ethical, and privacy considerations must be considered.

How would we define ‘bullying’ in this context? Who decides when someone’s actions warrant being placed on this registry? And how do we balance the need for public awareness with the right to privacy and rehabilitation, especially for minors?

These are complex questions, but they’re worth pondering.

Suppose a Bully Registry could prevent even a handful of individuals from enduring prolonged bullying. Isn’t it an idea worth exploring?

Here is how I could see it working, broken down into age-specific criteria:

The Grade School Bully Registry

Any child of grade school age who is proven to be a bully will have his or her name added to a public registry for one year, during which time the bully will be given mandatory counseling sessions provided by the school.

• The bully on the registry should have to apologize to the victims publicly in a school assembly.

At the end of the school year, the bully’s name is wiped from the registry, and they start the next school year with a clean slate.

• This process should continue until they reach middle school.

The Middle School Bully Registry

A middle school child proven to be a bully should have his or her name added to the registry for two years, during which time he or she shall also receive mandatory counseling within school hours.

• They should be made to wear a special badge that shows others that they are a bully.
• At the end of their sentence, they will have their bully status wiped clear from the registry with a clean slate to begin high school

The High School Bully Registry

If a child becomes a bully at the high school level, then some fundamental issues go unnoticed when they are in middle and grade school.

Therefore, the penalties should become harsher for this age group.

Moreover, suppose a bully in high school has not been held accountable for their actions by this age. In that case, the chances remain higher that they will continue to exert bullying behaviour in the outside world, in college or university, and then in the workforce.

• After proper investigation, a child proven to have been bullying others in high school shall have his or her name added to a public bullying registry for the duration of high school.

At the end of their schooling, they will have their bully status wiped clean from the registry, giving them a clean slate to go out into the world and become better human beings.

But what if many parents, particularly those of the bully, have questions about what would happen in certain circumstances?

Here are some rough FAQs I have thought of:

• What if my grade school child was just being silly?

Silly is fine, and silly can be cute. Bullying is not silly. Hopefully, the consequences will befit the behaviour, and they will learn not to be a bully in the year ahead.

• What if my middle or high school child got caught up in the wrong crowd?

That’s a shame your child did not have the strength of mind to walk away from people who clearly display asshole behaviour.

If the bully laws are implemented, then the wrong crowd, your child, is associated with would all be held accountable to the same laws as your child, thereby being added to the bully registry and gaining counseling.

This is the perfect opportunity for your child to learn that every person alive has choices about how they treat others.

• What if the situation is that the school staff are just picking on my child?

If the staff are “picking” on your child as you believe, then you think that the team are bullying your child. If the bully registry were to exist, then the school staff would also have to go through what would happen if their bullying behaviour were to suffer consequences.

• How will the bullying behaviour be assessed?

Nowadays, all schools have a code of conduct, usually written somewhere for all to access. The issue is that there are often no consequences for the behaviour listed as a break in the code of conduct.

The behaviour will be assessed simply by a three-strike policy.

The first bullying instance is a warning.

The second is a meeting with the parents of both parties involved.

The third is the bully registry.

Your child had ample options to stop being an asshole. They chose to ignore them. This is the consequence.

• Won’t this just put more pressure on school resources?

Maybe it will. However, isn’t the purpose of school to teach our children? To teach them how to read and write and how to function in society once they leave?

This registry would teach our young ones that bullying behaviour doesn’t fly in our world today. This would teach our children that accountability exists and there are consequences for bullying behaviour.

I know this idea of a bully registry has merit.

I want to see a society that claims to be inclusive of others and has the benefit of hindsight from their past transgressions do better at supporting both those who have been bullied and those who are inflicting harm.

Will this ever happen? I doubt it, but I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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