Bullying at school – A fifth feels repeatedly harassed

The reasons why someone becomes a bully – ie the initiative for the bully and takes on the leading role in the group – his complex. Life outside the power, the status increase of the group or an observed provocation can give the impulse. But boredom, pleasure, revenge or your own bullying experiences are also mentioned as causes. Moreover, violent behavior can have a discriminatory ideological background. For example, minorities such as LGBTQia youth are more often victims. Pupils with a migration background are often bullied because of their language or origin, according to the “Mobbing in Schools” of the Ministry of Education from 2018.

Bullying is a special form of violent behavior in which one or more people intend to damage another. The actions are repeated, systematically and for a longer period. There is also a power weight between the perpetrator and the victim, and those who are affected, feel helpless, according to the website of the Ministry of Education.

Different forms
According to the Ministry of Education, violent and aggressive behavior can have various forms. Physical bullying is intended to physically violate victims. Verbal bullying includes oral attacks such as insults, verbal threats, common comments or even if perpetrators ridicules their victims.

People speak about indirect bullying when rumors are distributed whether a person from a group is taken, and ignoring someone is also part of it. Sexist bullying means intimidation or derogatory comments regarding gender. In cyberbullying, violent actions are postponed on the internet.

All age groups have been affected
Not every form of violence and aggressive behavior is bullying: bullying, as the phenomenon is mentioned in the Anglo -European area, is available in all age groups, can be read in the guide. In addition to perpetrators and victims, there are usually other people involved in bullying. Assistants support the bully and actively participate; Watch reinforcements, laugh and nourish the actions of the bully. Defenders are at the victim, while outsiders keep themselves outside the situation. Teachers not only have the responsibility for the safety and health of the students, but also a role model: their reaction to acts of violence would be exactly observed by the children and adolescents, the guide explains.

The consequences are fatal
Untreated aggressive behavior in schools can have many reaching consequences for the victims. These can vary from fears and physical complaints, loss of self -confidence to depression or even suicide thoughts or suicide. But there are also possible consequences for the perpetrators, such as aggressive-dissocial behavior, delinquency in later years or rejection of peers. Both perpetrators and victims can struggle with the fall in performance or alcohol and addictive abuse.

Moreover, bullying has a negative influence on the learning performance and social behavior of all students. For example, it can lead to the fact that properties such as civil courage and empathy are not learned.

Boys are bullied more often
About a fifth of the students feel repeatedly harassed. This is apparent from the last PISA study from 2022-a total of 20 percent of the 15 or 16-year-old girls and 23 percent of the boys stated that they are the victims of bullying at least a few times a month. Other studies with somewhat different questions and other age groups show something different figures.

An analysis by UNICEF Innocenti-Global Office of Research and Foresight published in May, according to data from 2018 to 2022 that more than 21 percent of 15-year-olds complain about frequent bullying at school. Accordingly, the frequency of bullying has increased over the years, but the penultimate study of 2018 has recently been re -registered. Austria is about an average in the OECD comparison.