New "Anti-Bullying Act" Missing a Few Teeth

OAKLAND, CA, March 18, 2011 (Press-News.org) The current version of the Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA) does not prohibit bullying and harassment based on weight and height. It is imperative that SSIA be amended to include weight and height to protect all our children.

NAAFA applauds Senators Bob Casey and Mark Kirk for introducing the Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA), a bipartisan bill recently introduced in the Senate to help prevent bullying in schools, but the Act does not go far enough.

The SSIA does prohibit bullying and harassment, based on a student's actual or perceived race, color, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or religion. Why are weight and height missing?

Multiple studies indicate that fat children are the group being most bullied. NAAFA believes leaving any group without protection will remove protection for all and ultimately lead to the failure of the SSIA as a whole. The bullying must end!

Some Bulling Facts:

• Children who are obese are more likely to be bullied, regardless of a number of potential socio-demographic, social, and academic confounders. No protective factors were identified. Effective interventions to reduce bullying of obese children need to be identified. [Lumeng, et al, 2010]

• Bullying victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims, according to studies by Yale University (Yale University, Office of Public Affairs, "Bullying-Suicide Link Explored in New Study by Researchers at Yale" ( http://opac.yale.edu/news/article.aspx?id=5913 )

• Teasing about body weight is consistently associated with low body satisfaction, low self-esteem, high depressive symptoms, and thinking about and attempting suicide. [Eisenberg, et al, 2003]


NAAFA asks that all concerned individuals write to your Senators and urge them to see that weight and height are added to the Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA). It will take only a moment of your time and it can help change the lives of our children. Go to: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Search the listing by State to find the names of your U.S. Senators. Click on the link to complete an online form and ask your senators to amend the Safe Schools Improvement Act to include weight and height as protected classes. This is a very important step toward protecting children of all sizes. Thank you for making your voice heard!

Founded in 1969, NAAFA is a non-profit civil rights organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for fat people. NAAFA works to eliminate discrimination based on body size and provide fat people with the tools for self-empowerment through public education, advocacy, and member support.

On the web: http://www.naafa.org

For more information contact:
Peggy Howell, Public Relations Director, NAAFA
Email: pr@naafaonline.com