It’s a scene straight out of a horror movie. A 14-year-old girl douses a 15-year-old girl with “liquid from a black canister” and sets the girl on fire, to the shock of students and teachers at Evan Hardy Collegiate in Saskatoon.

The victim has a “long road ahead” as she lies in her hospital bed, swollen, sedated, intubated, drifting in and out of consciousness. Traumatized witnesses, fellow students and teachers continue to seek counselling at the school.

And a 14-year-old girl sits in custody facing charges of attempted murder, arson and aggravated assault. 

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So many questions about the September 5 attack abound. Some answers may come to light as the case unfolds. What preceded this terrifying moment? Was it a fight, a long-simmering rivalry, a moment of insanity perhaps triggered by drugs or alcohol? Will youth and their parents ever feel safe at school again? 

This is obviously an extreme form of bullying. What’s troubling is that an overwhelming number of Canadian children and youth experience some form of physical, verbal or psycho-social abuse from peers.

A 2023 Statistics Canada article defines bullying as being “a form of aggression where there is a power imbalance; it is behaviour that makes the person being bullied feel afraid, alone or uncomfortable.”

The article refers to a 2019 study finding that 71 per cent of Canadian youth aged 12 to 17 said they had encountered at least one form of bullying over the past year. 

According to the study, of those being bullied, 42 per cent said it occurred monthly or more frequently, with 58 per cent experiencing bullying several times a year. The most common bullying behaviours encountered were name-calling, insults and being made fun of, followed by rumours about them told to others, and thirdly, being excluded from activities.

The consequences of bullying can be devastating for both victim and perpetrator. 

Three out of four youths (72 per cent) who experienced bullying monthly or more reported having stressful lives compared to 44 per cent of youth who were never bullied. The bullied youth undergo high rates of insomnia, headaches, stomach aches and backaches compared to their non-bullied counterparts.

Children and youth who bully are 37 per cent more likely than non-bullies to commit crimes as adults, and are at greater risk of suffering aggression and depression among other psychological conditions, says a Public Safety Canada report. The report concludes: “The prevention of bullying behaviour in children and youth is an important factor for reducing the likelihood of future criminal activity.”

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The stakes are high. Bullying behaviours by children and youth must be stopped.

First, we need to understand why this behavior occurs. 

The Center for Heroic Leadership’s information website for teens lists a number of reasons why children and youth bully:

• The need to dominate others to feel secure and in control, since deep down they feel powerless in their own lives
• Picking on peers whose race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, weight, social awkwardness or anything else makes them “different”
• Wanting to “fit in” or achieve a particular social status in the crowd
• Revenge on peers who mistreated them
• A troubled home life 
• A need for attention or drama
• Psychological issues such as low self-esteem, uncontrolled anger, a lack of compassion, etc.

As parents and other adults in the lives of young bullies, we must ask ourselves some tough questions.

Have we modelled abuse or incivility at home? How we as adults treat our family members and others can have a huge influence on how young people interact with their peers.

With our lives packed with career goals and activities, have we taken the time and effort to regularly and meaningfully connect with and communicate with our children? 

Are we aware of what our children view on television, the movies they watch, the books they read? Much of what passes as “entertainment” is actually violent, dark and immoral content that can have negative influences on behaviour.

Do we monitor our children’s online activities? Excessive screen time and social media use poses risks to mental health by causing anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and other conditions. 

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Many resources exist to deal with situations of bullying or being bullied. Organizations such as Bullying Canada and PrevNet can provide much-needed support.

Love and kindness are values core to our faith. In a world filled with incivility and anger, we need to turn to the Word of God and seek Him in prayer. We desperately need His renewal of our minds and hearts.