Beatbullying begins The Big March: the world’s first virtual protest march for children’s rights

Digital campaigning history will be made today at 8am when the first virtual demonstrators cross the Beatbullying website. Protesters including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, key figures from the private, charity and public sectors, celebrities and teachers and over a hundred parliamentarians will march alongside tens of thousands of children and young people who have had enough of being bullied, harassed, intimidated, beaten up and violated.

An off-line Deputation with children and the families of the victims of bullying will then take place with the Deputy Prime Minster Nick Clegg on Wednesday 17th November.

Throughout the day avatars of the marchers (who can be viewed on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UL-eEtXjJs) will make their way across over sixty partner websites, including MSN, Action for Children, NetMums, MTV, the Office of the Children’s Commissioner and AOL in the first digital connected takeover of its kind.

Other supporters of the March include Google, Facebook, Stardoll, the Metropolitan Police and TES (Times Educational Supplement). Many partners have pitched virtual *tents* housing information and support on The Big March’s website www.beatbullying.org/bigmarch.

The petition being delivered to the Deputy Prime Minister calls for Government ‘to take immediate action to protect children and young people from the bullying, violence and harassment of young people, by young people'.

Beatbullying is also calling for an inter-departmental Anti-Bullying Review to be established, and for new legislation to be introduced where appropriate, in the form of a School Safety Bill and a Cyber Bullying Act to protect children (and teachers) while they are at school or online. Beatbullying believes that it should be explicitly against the law to bully, abuse or harass a pupil or teacher in or around school, or online, via mobile phones or other digital technologies

The marchers will be joined by stars of the entertainment and sports world, including Aston Merrygold, Alesha Dixon, Freddie Flintoff and Lee Westwood, as well as Pixie Lott who last week donated her exclusive track ‘Get Weak’ as the official Big March anthem.

Emma-Jane Cross, Chief Executive of Beatbullying, said: “Today, hundreds of thousands of people are sending a loud and clear message to Government.

"Beatbullying has been overwhelmed by the support we have had in the past two months for our Big March campaign – over three quarter of a million people are supporting our campaign, which must clearly demonstrate to Government the imperative need to act now to protect some of our most vulnerable children and young people.

“Six months ago the Coalition Programme for Government clearly expressed the Government’s intention to tackle the bullying which is so widespread and insidious across both UK schools and the internet – a commitment which we at Beatbullying welcomed. Sadly what we continue to see instead are headlines after headlines of children taking their own live because of the barrage of bullying they are experiencing both on and offline.

"This can be stopped. £2.79 pays for Beatbullying to respond to a child that comes to cybermentors.org.uk.org, our unique peer to peer mentoring site, because they are being bullied - last year alone there were over 715,000 requests for help.

“Our research further shows that almost three quarters of children feel unsafe at school and a shocking 17% of under-14s would even be prepared to carry a weapon in order to protect themselves. These statistics highlight the urgent need for an Anti-Bullying Review.

"This would see representatives from Government, universities, charities, working with parents, schools and young victims of bullying, to develop a cross-departmental strategy and implementing long-term solutions to bullying, including but not limited to the potential introduction of legislation in the form of a Schools’ Safety Bill and Cyber Bullying Act."

Robert and Tracy Mullaney, parents of bullied teenager Tom, who took his own life in May following online bullying, added: “Tragically, our son Tom took his own life in May of this year, following what we believe was one isolated incident of cyber bullying. This goes to demonstrate just how vicious and harmful an act cyber bullying is.

“Given just how devastating and far-reaching the consequences are, it must be made a crime and serious thought must be given, in the form of the proposed Review, to tackling bullying and ensuring that deaths such as Tom’s are avoided in the future.

"In this way, hopefully other young people and their families can be spared the senseless pain we have experienced over the last six months and join us in The Big March to make sure this never happens again."

To march alongside The Big March supporters, log on to www.beatbullying.org/bigmarch.

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