I saw something on bullying on TV a few years ago--one of those "spotlight on bullying" news-program things, I think. Nothing much stuck with me except a couple stray facts:
1) Kids alone are the kids who get bullied. Kids with even one friend who will stand by them are usually not worth the bully's trouble.
2) The single biggest factor for halting bullying was if someone stepped up and said "Stop it" to the bully/ies on behalf of the child being bullied. Just one kid stepping out of the mob and saying "This is not okay" stopped the bullying in the vast majority of cases--the number 85% sticks in my head, though I can't swear that's right.
This refects my experience from childhood, which is why I remembered the point, I think. I was often the one who bucked the crowd and said "That's not okay." There was no bullying in my presence.
This says to me that it's really about building a healthy feeling of community among the kids, so that kids feel like it's okay to stand up for someone. A dog-eat-dog, everyone for him/herself playground is not healthy.
One other thought:
I think there's a big difference between the bullying done by boys and that done by girls. I was much more likely to say something to boy bullies, since I knew they wouldn't hit me and hitting was really their only mode of attack. (Boys obviously wouldn't have that same assurance that I had as a girl.)
OTOH, the female "queen bees" are a lot more devious--as 'Neato can attest!--and a lot more difficult to stand up to, whether the good Samaritan is male or female.
