New Zealand has one of the highest rates of bullying in the world. A report by the Ministry of Education last year shows 36 per cent of Year 5 and 38 per cent of Year 9 students were bullied on a monthly basis.
But a programme by Maia Dreams called Confident Me might give us a clue to help solve this problem.
On October 1, 31 children and youth came from Te Kura and Camberley Community Centre to perform a devised theatre piece called Whakawetiweti at St Andrew's Hall, Hastings.
Whakawetiweti in Māori means bullying, and also includes threatening and intimidating. The children and youth shared their powerful stories about bullying through poetry, monologues, a skit and songs.
Kristyl Neho, founder of Maia Dreams and director of Whakawetiweti, said bullying was a massive issue.