DIAMANTE DE COMPETITIVIDAD DEL SECTOR TURISMO COLOMBIA-

During early school years, half of the participants described being bullied, becoming a bully or a mixture of both roles. Carol was bullied sporadically throughout primary school, describing how it made her feel and her connected reactionary behaviour.

I moved tae England and got bullied there cause I wis Scottish. It affected ma confidence. Cause I wis bullied in primary, I had this attitude that it wisnae gonnae happen again, so I became a bully. – Carol

Carol felt threatened by the coercive behaviour of others, so to regain thisand protect from further intimidation, she felt her only option was to adopt those behaviours. Through this she

believed she could regain some power in her life, both from bullies and the violence inflicted on her at home. This appeared to have bound her to negative behaviours as she explained that for a long time, she felt that violence became the only way to tackle her problems with others. She has since consciously moved away from these behaviours to live harmoniously within herself and with those around her.

Bullying and being bullied emerged from other narratives. Like Carol, these generally fell into two categories – those who became bullies to regain control and those who retreated into themselves as their confidence and self-worth was damaged.

…being bullied definitely affected me. I would say that it desensitized me tae violence an empathy. My older pals taught me that I wis tougher than that bully frae primary, an frae that day I didnae really have any fear o anybody. – Conor

I wis bullied fir 6 years so it messed up ma confidence an I struggled tae stick in at school. I could have done a lot better cause I am a smart boy but obviously the bullying got a hold o me. It wis horrible. – Dave

I didnae learn much at school. I was bullied all the time. At the playtime we would go out and the school kids would see me dressed in the cheapest of clothes. They would have school bags and I had a plastic Haddows bag. – Scott

Research has shown that victims of bullying have a high probability of engaging in bullying behaviours themselves at some point (reflected in both Daryl and Carol’s descriptions). Victims struggle to regain power and control, which can lead to these behaviours emerging (Barker et al., 2008). School transitions – either changing school or moving up from primary to secondary – are often points when bullying begins or a change in role occurs. This can be due to the disruption of social hierarchies with bullying being used to gain or maintain status (Troop-Gordon, 2017). Participants described not wanting to suffer the emotional turmoil of being bullied again and felt their options were limited to transitioning from victim to bully. This ensured they could defend themselves while demonstrating they should not be

challenged by intimidating others. All of those who attested to being a bully felt guilty about it, but they all described similar reasons for this role development – it stopped them being bullied by others. In their peer environments, their options were reduced to either being the intimidator or the intimidated.

Both Dave and Scott described the long-term damage being bullied had on them. It negatively affected their engagement with school and their knowledge development and for Dave it worsened his confidence issues which he still struggles with today. Scott attended the Learning Centre to redress the schooling he missed due, in part, to being bullied, while Dave has found similar skills-development in his work shed. A bully asserts their authority over another by reducing the victim’s confidence and dignity. One of the prerequisites of capability attainment and flourishing is the necessity for a person to be equal to those around them and free of domination from others in order to be perceived as truly-human. The trauma of being bullied limits those pre-requisites for the victim, damaging their ability to attain capabilities. A person’s capacity to act autonomously is also at risk as they are oppressed, in varying degrees, by the acts of their oppressor (bully). The comments above describe ways in which these capabilities were thwarted; affiliation, as none of these participants were being treated as a dignified being whose worth was equal to that of others; emotions, as their development in this area is being damaged by the fear and anxiety created by the bully; and finally implied damage to bodily integrity as they struggled to move freely in their environment due to fear of intimidation. Participants’ autonomy was also negatively affected due to the powerlessness they felt at the hands of their persecutor (Nussbaum, 2011).

These descriptions also touch on early identity development in participants’ lives.Research has shown that bullying can result in long-term damage to self-respect and self-confidence (Fullchange and Furlong, 2016). For those who were bullied, the devaluation of their worth made them question who they were and what type of behaviours they wanted to display to others. Primary socialisation (predominantly influenced by the family unit) and secondary socialisation (how we interact and develop with peers and groups) both play a central role in identity construction. The process evolves through ongoing interaction with these two categories, by which individuals define and redefine themselves at various points (see Cooley, 1962; Mead, 1934). A person’s sense of self, particularly when young, can be affected, both positively and negatively by the self-regard of others (Jenkins, 2008). For

those treated as lesser by their bullies, this can be internalised and affect a person’s identity and opinion of themselves. Studies focusing on bully-victims found them to display severe and often long-lasting vulnerabilities and they were at greater risk of suicidal ideation, conduct problems, anxiety, depression and self-harm (Kelly et al., 2015; Barker at al., 2008). Being a bully has been linked to later drug use, violence, offending and suicidal tendencies (see Ttofi and Farrington, 2011; Gibb et al., 2011; McVie, 2014; Sourander et al., 2011; Ttofi at al., 2011). Being both victim and perpetrator can perpetuate a cycle of social exclusion and rejection by peers which results in behavioural and emotional responses (Vaswani, 2019). For those participants who experienced this at school, the impact appears to have been deep-seated and long-term. From school and peer groups, other environments and parties that influenced participants’ development will be looked at, starting with home environment.