Bullying is the tip of an iceberg where society is. It is one of the reflections of the director of the Preventive Psychology Unit of the Complutense University, María José Díaz-Aguado. He has been working in violence prevention for more than 40 years and has directed the Study on school bullying and cyberbullying in Spain in childhood and adolescence promoted by the Fundación Colacao, which has had 21,000 participants from all over Spain.
Are we getting better?
Undoubtedly, although there is still a way to go. There was a first turning point in 2004 with the suicide of Jokin, a teenager who was suffering from very serious school bullying. The media paid a lot of attention to it, in large part because the family decided to work so that this event would contribute to there being no more. Society mobilized and the studies that have made it possible to compare before and after this date in secondary school show that school bullying has decreased. In our study (2023) comparing data from 2010, we see that there is a 24% decrease in victims, and a 50% decrease in bullies.
The perception is that it is getting worse.
There are several causes. One is that collective awareness contributes to society discovering the seriousness of the problem and making it appear that there is more. In addition, new risks appear, such as those that take place through information and communication technologies. It is very difficult to stop cyberbullying and it is increasing in Spain and the world. And the quality of mental health of childhood and adolescence today is more worrying. This worsening seems to go hand in hand with the use of new technologies. They can be a fabulous anti-bullying resource, but they also involve certain risks.
Does it act against harassment?
When the media report on a case of harassment they usually ask if the protocol was applied. And I miss asking: Was there a preventive plan? School bullying is the tip of a deep iceberg where the whole society is. An ancestral culture of dominance and submission, in which power is exercised by submission. Schools must see the importance of stopping him at the first sign.
Are there enough resources?
They are increasing, but more are needed. The role of the welfare coordinator is very important. Schools work more on bullying than on gender-based violence. And they are very related, they are two expressions of the same model.
It calls for a gender perspective on harassment.
Why is the percentage of boys who bully almost double that of girls? Their violence is encouraged from sexism or justified, while girls are forbidden from using violence and trained in empathy and the ability to put themselves in the shoes of the other And why don’t they ask help men? From an early age, sexist education has forbidden them. To free them from masculinity is to improve their dignity and quality of life.
20% of victims of school bullying have attempted suicide.
It’s a tremendous number. Violence increases suicide attempts. All victims of school bullying should receive specialized psychological help to alleviate the harm caused by this violence. And besides, we should pass them on whenever we believe them. There will be time to confirm the victim’s story and decide what measures to take. There is a lot of evidence that not believing a victim’s story can lead to further victimization that needs to be avoided.
Sometimes it’s hard to see the line between a bully and a bully.
62% of those who have identified themselves as bullies say that no adult in their family has spoken to them about their behavior. And 66% say no teacher. Bullies, very often, are not receiving educational treatment to help them. They have worse relationships with teachers and at home with those in charge of their education.
Do you think about helping the bully? Or is it just expelled?
Punishment serves several functions. When a person seriously violates the rules of coexistence, there must be consequences. If not, impunity increases the tendency to reoffend. It has another function: to repair the victim. But there is a third very important function, which is often forgotten: correcting the behavior of the person being punished. And it is one of the great pending subjects. Bullies have a lot of problems. If we don’t attend to them, their behavior will not stop.
What can we do about it?
Be aware that expulsion can be effective in conveying that the sanctioned behavior is unacceptable. But it is very predictable that the bully will use more violence in another place and that the problems that led him to bully will increase. You need to help him repent. If not, the risk of reoffending is very high. And it is necessary to help him turn that discomfort into a behavior to repair the harm.
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And a very important thing, coexistence classrooms, so that, instead of expulsion, those who break the rules can go to a context within the center itself, where qualified staff will help them repair the damage. This alternative can be much more educational. 40% of schools have them.
