A film to help adults with learning disabilities cope with bullying has been premiered in Birmingham. The film Beat the Bullies, which has been made by people with learning disabilities living in Birmingham, includes personal stories showing the effects such abuse has had on their lives and aims to empower others to take control and reduce their vulnerability to bullying, abuse and hate crime. Organisers plan to issue DVDs of the film to people with learning difficulties in Birmingham and to make it available nationally following the launch, which marks the start of national Learning Disability Week (21-27 June). The project has been made possible thanks to a £7,500 grant from the Queen’s Nursing Institute, Fund for Innovation Award which supports projects to improve nursing care in the community. Beat the Bullies was chosen for the award from more than 60 applications. There are about 28,000 adults with learning disabilities in Birmingham. A study by Mencap in 2000 showed that up to 88 per cent of people with learning disabilities have been bullied at some point in their lives, with 66 per cent reporting bullying occurring on a regular basis. Evidence suggests that the problem has increased in the last 10 years, with studies (see Note 1) identifying a lack of accessible information, services and support as key causes of the rise in the number of incidents. The Beat the Bullies project grew out of a series of bullying awareness workshops in the city led by nursing and psychology professionals from South Birmingham Community Health’s community learning disability team (see Note 2). Dr James Cawley, a clinical psychologist in the community learning disability team, said: “Beat the Bullies grew out of the workshops, which aimed to give people with learning disabilities skills to combat bullying and opportunities to tell their stories about the harrowing effects of bullying in their lives.” Kate Morris, specialist community nurse, added: “We want to raise awareness among the wider population of the devastating effect bullying can have upon people’s lives. We hope this film will encourage people with learning disabilities to get the help and support they deserve.” Rosemary Cook CBE, director of the Queen’s Nursing Institute said: “We are delighted to support a project which gives people with learning disabilities a chance to help their peers in this way. Bullying is always completely unacceptable and this resource will help people avoid being bullied.” For further information or to request a DVD of Beat the Bullies, contact the St Stephen’s Centre, Handsworth on 0121 465 8950. Comments from victims of bullying who appeared in the film: Mother-of-two Mariam Bibi Khan said: “When I used to go out of the house, people would pick on me because I had a learning disability. “They used to hit me and punch me in the street and I didn’t deserve that - just because I was different. It made me feel really low and I bottled it all up. “I didn’t know what to do so I shut myself off from the world. I just wanted to close my eyes and never wake up again. It was horrible and I had no-one to tell because no-one would listen. But I learnt that there are support groups out there that can help you and now I feel lots better about myself. I would say to anyone in the position I was in that you shouldn’t just shut yourself away like I did. There are lots of people who want to help.”Read
