Bullying is a very serious issue that should not leave us indifferent. Preventing and curbing it is a work of the whole society, starting with schools and families, through education, awareness and prevention, until the application of other measures by other social organizations.
In this sense, the ANAR Foundation and the Mutua Madrileña Foundation, through their joint project Let's end bullying, have been working for some time to raise awareness among young people about the need to fight against bullying, developing sociological studies and campaigns about reality of this problem
The data of the last survey carried out by the two entities, in which 2,600 students from 6th grade, 1st from ESO and 2nd from ESO, and a hundred teachers from colleges and institutes participated, warn of the social scourge of bullying, a problem that far from disappearing, is increasing.
Sociological data of bullying
According to Students surveyed, one in three states that there is bullying in their class, and in 67 percent of cases this occurs by a group, increasing this situation by 11 percentage points compared to the previous 2016 study.
The most common ages at which students encounter this problem are the 12 and 13 years old (corresponding to the courses of 1st of ESO and 2nd of ESO). From this age the cases begin to decrease.
Regarding the stalker's profile, 62 percent of the students surveyed affirm that stalkers act this way because they consider themselves superior to the rest of the partners, although they also say they do it for fun.
For their part, most teachers point out that complexes, insecurity, low self-esteem or fear of rejection they are the main characteristics of the student who harasses, followed by aggressiveness and the feeling of superiority.
In regards to Profile of the harassed student, the study shows that Bullying affects almost the same proportion of boys as girls, being slightly higher in this last group (51 percent versus 49 percent of the boys).
On the other hand, and according to the survey, the reasons that would turn a student into teasing or harassment by other classmates would be:
Being unskilled in social relationships
Being out of fashion or not following the same trends or tastes as most
Have physical defects
Have a disability
On some occasions, the harassed boys and girls stand out for their intelligence, their physical attractiveness or their personality characteristics (they are the brightest, the funniest, the ones that have the best behavior ...)
31 percent of victims do not count
Children who suffer bullying it takes an average of 13 months to ask for help, although unfortunately not everyone raises their voice against this situation, and almost 31 percent of the victims fail to tell their parents.
Among the reasons behind their silence are, according to the survey:
Not wanting to worry the family or make them suffer with this problem.
Fear of parent overreaction before school or bullies.
Fear of telling it because at home there are conflicting situations where parents do not feel satisfied or proud of them.
Alarm signals
That is why it is essential that both parents and classmates and teachers are pending, and before any alarm signal, let's act to stop the situation.
In this regard, parents should worry ...
If we see that the child is isolated or not related as before.
If it begins to manifest psychosomatic diseases, such as a stomachache or headache.
If you make excuses for not going to school.
If you change the character, show an elusive look, present postural changes or change your clothing habits to cover yourself.
If you return from school with broken or lost material.
As for teachers, it is important that they talk to the student if they perceive ...
Sadness or vulnerability to certain situations.
Missing class attendance.
If the student frequently disappears personal items.
Changes in attitude: not participating in class, poor academic performance, is less related to classmates ...
Marks or scratches on visible parts of your body
For its part, peers also have a very important job, giving the alarm to any situation of which they are witnesses or connoisseurs. In this regard, the ANAR Foundation and Mutua Madrileña are carrying out campaigns to make students aware that their indifference, silence or laughter also makes them complicit.
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