Decades of research on peer-to-peer maltreatment in childhood and adolescence, together with anti-bullying advocacy, have established bullying as a serious public health, educational and mental health issue.
Looking at the long-term harms of bullying, psychologist Dieter Wolke and his colleagues found that "victims of childhood bullying, including those that bullied others (bully-victims), were at increased risk of poor health, wealth and social-relationship outcomes in adulthood."
Research like this has helped move the needle. Both the World Health Organization and the Public Health Agency of Canada now recognize bullying as a significant and preventable public health concern.
Yet much of the anti-bullying movement still does not give adequate attention to racialized bullying. Racialized or racist bullying "is defined as bullying motivated by prejudice against someone's actual or perceived race, ethnicity, culture, citizenship status or religion."
