Anti-Bullying and Harassment

Bullying and harassment, in any of their forms, have no place at St Joseph’s College. All members of our school community must be able to enjoy a safe school environment.

At St Joseph’s College, we define bullying and harassment in the following ways:

Bullying is the utilisation of a power imbalance by one person or group of people to oppress another. That power imbalance can be on the basis of age, physical size, capability in a particular activity, perceived social status or number of people. Bullying includes, but is not limited to, physical bullying, emotional bullying, psychological bullying, racism or sexism.

Harassment is behaviour that is offensive, unwanted, repeated and that violates another person’s dignity. A power imbalance is not necessary for a situation to be deemed harassment. Harassment includes, but is not limited to, physical harassment, emotional or psychological harassment, racial harassment or sexual harassment.

If a student believes they or a peer is being bullied or harassed, they can take the following steps:

1. If it safe to do so, calmly ask the person to stop the behaviour that is making them feel threatened.
2. Report the bullying to a trusted and responsible adult, this can be a parent, guardian or a staff member.
3. Report the bullying via Stymie, an anonymous reporting platform (see section 4.7)

If bullying or harassment is reported to the college, we will take the following action:

1. Obtain permission from the victim to act. (School staff are required to act if we believe the student may be at risk of significant harm and there is no adult who is willing and able to protect them from harm).
2. Manage the situation discreetly and record it on our database.
3. Offer support to the victim of bullying
4. Investigate the incident(s) using witness testimony and surveillance cameras where applicable.
5. If necessary, utilise a formal sanction according to our Transgressing The Joey’s Way Compendium
6. If appropriate, the College may invite relevant students to partake in a Restorative Conference.