The subject of bullying again came to the fore with the withdrawal of Miss SA finalist Levern Jose from the beauty pageant, after allegations that she had been a “ringleader” of a squad of bullies during her high school days.
Jose claimed she had learnt to defend herself from bullying and proffered a qualified apology in saying, “If my actions in protecting myself caused harm to anyone, I offer my sincere apologies.”
The pageant accepted her decision to step down stating, “The Miss SA organisation does not condone bullying of any kind. We accept Lavern’s decision to pull out of the competition and respect her for owning her truth and taking this time to focus on her healing.”
The bullying allegations hit social media just hours after the announcement of the top 12.
One user claimed that the bullying she experienced left her “traumatised” and another said she was surprised Jose had made it to the top 30. The organisation has provided Jose with counselling through its mental health partner, the South African Depression and Anxiety Group.
By withdrawing from the competition, Jose, 23, who is a candidate property practitioner and BCom law student at Eduvos Pretoria and an entrepreneur, misses out on a potential life-changing opportunity to win prizes in excess of R3m, not to mention losing out on a platform to exercise influence through her involvement with various social and philanthropic projects.
The prizes include R1m cash and occupation of a luxurious penthouse apartment worth R10.5m in Waterfall City. For the duration of her reign, the winner’s apartment will be fully furnished by Superblast.com with homeware provided by Woolworths. She will also get the chance to represent SA in the Miss Universe pageant in addition to having a Mercedes Benz C-class for her use during her reign.
Bullying is a serious issue in our schools, which has had serious repercussions in the past. The 2021 suicide of a Limpopo teenager, 15-year-old Lufuno Mavhunga, after her bullying by a schoolmate, comes to mind. Even 12 year olds are known to have committed suicide after acts of bullying.
To counter this scourge, schools have to enact or strengthen anti-bullying policies as part of the code of conduct. Schools should be safe spaces where bullying is frowned upon and handled with the necessary urgency.
Being bullied can take the form of being picked on by an individual or a group and made fun of on the basis of one’s appearance, race or religion, social status or even sexual identity. Verbally it manifests in acts of taunting or teasing while psychologically it can be through gossiping and spreading malicious rumours. There is also cyber bullying – the use of the internet to malign someone. The effects of such acts include fear, stress, depression and other mental health disorders, which can trigger suicidal thoughts.
The academic performance of victims of bullying also suffers, as a result of mood swings, lethargy and the inability to sleep. Teachers should be on a constant lookout for tell-tale signs of potential victims and perpetrators.
Bullies tend to be the aggressive and outgoing type, but there are also those who thrive in anonymity and are quiet and sneaky – wolves in sheep skins. Most bullies are control freaks and narcissists with poor social skills. Bullies lack empathy and in extreme cases, they are sociopaths who do not understand normal social emotions such as guilt, empathy, compassion or remorse. In such cases, counselling by psychologists, psychiatrists or social workers is imperative.
For the victims, it is important to inform either a parent or teacher. The alternative is to ignore the bully in the hope he or she will give up. It is also important not to get physical with a bully, although some people believe that when physically confronted bullies will walk away. Talking sense to a bully might also help by pointing out the ramifications of their actions.
Cases such as Jose’s can be referenced to show that any association with bullying can destroy dreams.
We can only hope that Jose will put this nasty saga behind her and work on bouncing back having learnt something from this episode. To eliminate the scourge of bullying, we all need to treat each other with love and respect.
NATHANIEL LEE | Tackling scourge of bullying in schools important for both victim and offender
Miss SA finalist withdraws from pageant after accusations of bullies' ringleader
Image: Supplied
The subject of bullying again came to the fore with the withdrawal of Miss SA finalist Levern Jose from the beauty pageant, after allegations that she had been a “ringleader” of a squad of bullies during her high school days.
Jose claimed she had learnt to defend herself from bullying and proffered a qualified apology in saying, “If my actions in protecting myself caused harm to anyone, I offer my sincere apologies.”
The pageant accepted her decision to step down stating, “The Miss SA organisation does not condone bullying of any kind. We accept Lavern’s decision to pull out of the competition and respect her for owning her truth and taking this time to focus on her healing.”
The bullying allegations hit social media just hours after the announcement of the top 12.
One user claimed that the bullying she experienced left her “traumatised” and another said she was surprised Jose had made it to the top 30. The organisation has provided Jose with counselling through its mental health partner, the South African Depression and Anxiety Group.
By withdrawing from the competition, Jose, 23, who is a candidate property practitioner and BCom law student at Eduvos Pretoria and an entrepreneur, misses out on a potential life-changing opportunity to win prizes in excess of R3m, not to mention losing out on a platform to exercise influence through her involvement with various social and philanthropic projects.
The prizes include R1m cash and occupation of a luxurious penthouse apartment worth R10.5m in Waterfall City. For the duration of her reign, the winner’s apartment will be fully furnished by Superblast.com with homeware provided by Woolworths. She will also get the chance to represent SA in the Miss Universe pageant in addition to having a Mercedes Benz C-class for her use during her reign.
Bullying is a serious issue in our schools, which has had serious repercussions in the past. The 2021 suicide of a Limpopo teenager, 15-year-old Lufuno Mavhunga, after her bullying by a schoolmate, comes to mind. Even 12 year olds are known to have committed suicide after acts of bullying.
To counter this scourge, schools have to enact or strengthen anti-bullying policies as part of the code of conduct. Schools should be safe spaces where bullying is frowned upon and handled with the necessary urgency.
Being bullied can take the form of being picked on by an individual or a group and made fun of on the basis of one’s appearance, race or religion, social status or even sexual identity. Verbally it manifests in acts of taunting or teasing while psychologically it can be through gossiping and spreading malicious rumours. There is also cyber bullying – the use of the internet to malign someone. The effects of such acts include fear, stress, depression and other mental health disorders, which can trigger suicidal thoughts.
The academic performance of victims of bullying also suffers, as a result of mood swings, lethargy and the inability to sleep. Teachers should be on a constant lookout for tell-tale signs of potential victims and perpetrators.
Bullies tend to be the aggressive and outgoing type, but there are also those who thrive in anonymity and are quiet and sneaky – wolves in sheep skins. Most bullies are control freaks and narcissists with poor social skills. Bullies lack empathy and in extreme cases, they are sociopaths who do not understand normal social emotions such as guilt, empathy, compassion or remorse. In such cases, counselling by psychologists, psychiatrists or social workers is imperative.
For the victims, it is important to inform either a parent or teacher. The alternative is to ignore the bully in the hope he or she will give up. It is also important not to get physical with a bully, although some people believe that when physically confronted bullies will walk away. Talking sense to a bully might also help by pointing out the ramifications of their actions.
Cases such as Jose’s can be referenced to show that any association with bullying can destroy dreams.
We can only hope that Jose will put this nasty saga behind her and work on bouncing back having learnt something from this episode. To eliminate the scourge of bullying, we all need to treat each other with love and respect.
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