National bullying strategy urged amid parents’ frustration — experts

Barbados needs a national bullying prevention strategy and stronger rehabilitation programmes for young people, two specialists have said, amid parents’ frustration with how schools handle incidents.

Shawn Clarke, chief executive officer of Supreme Counselling for Personal Development, and Professor Dwayne Devonish, a lecturer and behavioural scientist at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, said tackling the problem required greater collaboration among schools, parents and other stakeholders.

Their comments came amid a series of viral videos of students engaging in physical altercations and making disparaging remarks about schoolmates.