School bullying needs to be stopped
- Lev Narozhny
- 2 days ago
- 8 min read
The topics of my articles are increasingly gaining importance in the social sphere, and this one will likely become one of the most important. Today's topic is school bullying, what is it and how can it be stopped?
Some words about ARSIS
On Friday, January 23, the official opening of the Thessaloniki Municipality Center for the Prevention and Protection of Children and Adolescents took place. The center operates in collaboration with ARSIS the Association for Social Support of Youth and the Municipality of Thessaloniki.
The presence of numerous national, regional, and local institutions underscored the local community's interest in supporting this initiative and signaled hope for the protection and empowerment of children and youth in Thessaloniki is a priority for the city.
We were fortunate to attend as a spectator and also to speak with one of the educational activities coordinators at ARSIS, Thanos Kelemanis. He was very helpful in understanding the situation and answered my questions, which enabled me to write this article.
Let's start from the beginning. We've briefly mentioned what ARSIS does, but let's add a little history about their journey in this social mission. The organization was founded in 1992. Since then, it has operated in various cities in Greece, including Athens, Thessaloniki, Volos, Alexandroupolis, and Kozani, and is also present in Tirana, Albania, thanks to the participation of its members and volunteers.
The center was created in response to the ever growing social needs related to the prevention and response to youth violence, school and online bullying, as well as the protection of children aged 6-13 and adolescents and young adults aged 14-20 living in vulnerable situations.
ARSIS work is focused on two main areas
The Observatory on Youth Violence and Delinquency, which aims to systematically
record and monitor incidents involving children and adolescents in collaboration with services and institutions of the Municipality of Thessaloniki, thereby facilitating the development of evidence-based preventive measures and the planning of social interventions.
So let's move on to the topic itself!
What exactly is bullying?
Bullying is not just a new English word, that has appeared in all languages. It is violence. Even if the violence is directed at a child, it does not mean it is "not serious" because it is for children. Violence can take many forms but remains violence in any case. It can be psychological, physical, and today cyberbullying is also recognized separately. And it is important to remember that teachers can also be part of bullying, just like children.
Psychological bullying can include:
*Systematic insults and humiliation, teasing, devaluation, mockery, humiliating nicknames, undermining self esteem.
*Social isolation and exclusion, ignoring, boycotting, deliberately, pushing out of a group, prohibiting others from communicating with the victim.
*Manipulation and gaslighting, distorting reality, making the victim believe they are imagining things or that here is something wrong with them.
*Threats and psychological intimidation, hints of punishment, spreading fear, controlling through pressure and anxiety.
*Spreading rumors and damaging reputation, false accusations, gossip, public defamation to socially destroy the victim.
Physical bullying appears as:
*Hitting and beating, pushing, kicking, slapping, hitting with hands or feet.
*Damaging or taking personal belongings, stealing, breaking, throwing away backpacks, clothes, school supplies.
*Physical intimidation, blocking passage, looming, aggressive gestures, showing strength.
*Coercion with force, making someone do something against their will, giving money, performing humiliating actions.
*Dangerous "jokes" and violent games, deliberately causing pain under the guise of a joke or game.
Cyberbullying appears as:
*Insults and humiliation online, aggressive comments, messages, memes, or posts
intended to humiliate a person.
*Spreading personal information, posting private data, messages, photos, or videos without consent (doxing).
*Online harassment and stalking, mass attacks, repeated messages, coordinated pressure in chats and social networks.
*Information distortion and slander, fake accounts, message forgery, spreading rumors and lies.
*Exclusion and ignoring in the digital space, removing from chats, deliberate ignoring, public canceling.
Teacher bullying appears as:
*Verbal humiliation, insults, mockery, rude remarks, devaluation of the student’s
achievements, public ridicule in front of the class.
*Social isolation and exclusion, ignoring the student, deliberately excluding from
academic or extracurricular activities, depriving opportunities to interact with the
group.
*Unfair treatment and discrimination, biased punishment, excessive demands
on one student, favoritism toward others, punishment without reason.
*Psychological pressure and intimidation, threatening behavior, scaring,
intimidation with grades or consequences, creating an atmosphere of fear and
anxiety.
*Physical or indirect coercion, light pushing, forcing actions against the
student’s will, threats of corporal punishment, and indirect forms such as damaging
the student’s personal belongings or forcing them to perform humiliating actions.
We have described in detail what bullying is, but to avoid confusion between real bullying and ordinary childish behavior, let’s draw a clear line. The line is easy to determine, but there are nuances. If you, as the victim, dislike the behavior of the bully, and you tell them to without fear for your safety, and they stop and sincerely apologize, then the bully’s behavior is more likely inappropriate, not aggression.
There are also cases of simply "childish silly behavior" when telling someone to stop does not work, there is some violence, but it is not considered bullying. For example, two ten year old children fight over the last piece of pie in the cafeteria. This is not bullying because there is a triggering situation: it is not that one child dislikes the other, but each child simply wants to take the piece of pie by force.
A similar example for teenagers could be a fight over a girl. Such behavior happens frequently and is even considered a kind of teen cliché.
Useful Information
When reading about school bullying, we can imagine that some readers will feel that it's not a serious issue. So, here are some links to official statistics from Greece and the EU showing that the bullying picture is quite grim.
This study showing that approximately 32.4% of Greek school students experience bullying (all forms) in the 2022-2023 school year.
Panhellenic survey, data for the 2023-2024 school year: 1 in 3 children (35.5%) report experiencing bullying; 1 in 4 children (26.6%) believes that schools do not teach how to prevent bullying.
Incidents through a government platform in Greece in one year.
According to OECD estimates, an average of about 20% of students in OECD countries reported being bullied regularly (several times a month), which gives an idea of the scale of bullying in developed education systems, including many EU countries.
OECD/UNESCO based data shows that in European countries, on average, about 15.5% of adolescents experience cyberbullying, and this figure is growing in many EU countries.
11% of adolescents experience bullying at school, and up to ~15% face cyberbullying, these data reflect the situation for the region, including EU countries.
Helping victims is clear, but why is it necessary to help aggressors?
Yes...
The situation is so-so, but let's focus on solving the problem.
Let’s discuss where in a child’s mind the desire to inflict psychological or even physical abuse on other students comes from. In short, violence breeds violence. Without diving into complex psychological and social analyses, the simplest chain can be described like this: the boss hurts the father, the father takes it out on the mother, the mother takes it out on the child, the child seeks a weaker student to release their aggression on. But the story does not end there. Children who have experienced bullying in school may also develop patterns of cruelty toward their future family or themselves. It is important to understand that the "reason" for bullying for an aggressor can be anything: the victim may be different from the majority of students in behavior or appearance, the family’s financial situation, possible health problems that make them stand out. There can be a million such excuses, but they give no right to subject someone to bullying, regardless of how they look or behave.
For more information, see these links:
Imagine bullying has already occurred. Ideally, it is stopped at an early stage, but what if
abuse is not stopped? Beyond the aspects we described above.
Bullying stages can be characterized as follows:
*Silly "jokes" directed at a student.
*Psychological abuse.
*Gradual increase in participants (more children start bullying the student).
*Physical abuse.
*Systematized abuse, when bullying becomes permanent.
This unofficial "pyramid" of bullying stages is just a list of the most likely phases.
How to stop bullying?
Every case is unique, but there are clear instructions for school staff:
*Identify the participants, aggressors and victims.
*Determine the stage of bullying.
*Contact the children’s guardians and provide information.
*In severe cases, temporarily separate the children.
School social workers, psychologists, and teachers must understand each situation clearly
to help all participants and provide an individualized rehabilitation process. What if they don’t care? Unfortunately, many victims did not receive proper help from school staff and remember those times with strong resentment. If schools had paid deeper attention to this problem, ARSIS’ programs for preventing school bullying would not be as necessary.
What does ARSIS do and how do they help improve the situation?
Their main mission is to think ahead. They give lectures in schools and nearby towns so children know their rights and where to turn for help. The organization’s office is near the center of Thessaloniki, at 12 Monastiriou Street, 7th floor. Six specialists work there — managers, social workers, and psychologists.
They can listen to everyone and provide support for each specific case. The organization also has programs for teachers, explaining how to spot aggressive behavior early and prevent the situation from spiraling out of control.
How to help yourself?
First, determine whether you are an aggressor or a victim. Answer this as honestly as
possible. Human psychology is such that we often see ourselves as the "good person,"
especially as a child, thinking "I was forced to hit them, otherwise I’m a good person." If
you hurt someone and don’t stop, you are an aggressor. This is not about shame, but about understanding that your actions hurt others.
If you are an aggressor, you need to stop immediately. If other students joined in your
actions, your responsibility also includes trying to stop them to minimize the victim’s
trauma. After stopping the violence sharply, analyze your behavior, ask for forgiveness,
and consult a school social worker or psychologist to help you understand your feelings. If
the victim does not want to be friends, that is their right, respect it and don’t force
friendship.
If you are a victim, it is more difficult. First, remember you are not responsible for the
aggressor’s actions. Find an adult who can influence the situation, a school staff
member, guardian, or family member. Victims often keep quiet, but now you know about
ARSIS and can reach out to them.
Additionally, engaging in sports helps strengthen your body and confidence, which
reduces the risk of physical attacks. This is a recommendation, not a requirement. Most
importantly, remember you are not at fault and everything is fine with you.
What should a child’s guardians know?
The main advice is to build a connection so the child feels safe sharing what is happening.
Guardians should also explain what bullying is, so the child understands that sometimes
children can be cruel. No stereotypes should be imposed like "you are a boy, figure it out
yourself."
My child is an aggressor, what to do?
Find out the details of what happened. In severe cases, restrict your child’s contact with
the victim or consider transferring schools. If your child bullies others, seek professional
help. Even if the situation is not extreme, inform teachers so they can help manage
conflicts. Talk with the victim and ask how you can help. Trying to fix the situation is not
shameful, ignoring it is.
My child is a victim of bullying?
Assess the severity of the situation. If many children are involved, transferring schools may
be the best option. If the school provides no support, file a complaint with the relevant
authorities to review and take appropriate measures. Encourage open communication with
your child, so they feel safe sharing personal issues. Also, consulting a specialist as a
family is recommended.
The topic of school bullying is truly enormous. No matter how much you study it, new
aspects always emerge. We wish every student to feel safe and know their rights.
We'd like to thank Thanos again for his time and assistance in writing this article! We look forward to continuing to collaborate with you and assisting you in your mission!
Comments