And, she said, the jacket had not been ruined accidentally.
Someone had intentionally damaged it.
Twice.
I asked why she hadn’t told us.
She said she was afraid things would get worse.
That sentence stayed with me.
Why Victims Sometimes Stay Silent
It can be easy for adults to ask:
“Why didn’t you just tell someone?”
But the answer is not always simple.
A young person may fear:
Retaliation
Embarrassment
Being called a “snitch”
Not being believed
Making the situation worse
Losing friends
Becoming the center of attention
Sometimes a child believes that adults will dismiss the problem.
Sometimes they think bullying is something they are supposed to handle themselves.
And sometimes they don’t have the words to explain what is happening.
That is why adults need to pay attention not only to what children say, but also to changes in their behavior.
