In 2019, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) established the International Day against Violence and Bullying at School, including Cyberbullying to be observed on the first Thursday ov November.
The goal was to increase social awareness on the fact that bullying in schools and cyberbullying is an infringement of children’s and adolescents’ rights to education and to health and well-being.
The term bullying means harassment, intimidation, psychological abuse, persecution of the weakest.
The first observance was in 2020, when the international day had the theme “Together against Bullying in school”. This year’s theme is “No place for fear: ending school violence for better mental health and learning”.
On this occasion, the UNESCO headquarters in Paris host a symposium, while the regional UNESCO office in Harare, Zimbabwe, organizes an online debate with students from Eastern and Southern Africa.
“Schools should be central places where everyone can learn and grow – safe, inclusive and welcoming environments,” transmits UNESCO Directorul-General Audrey Azoulay on this year’s International Day against Violence and Bullying at School, including Cyberbullying.
“It is high time that we saw the fight against bullying and cyberbullying for what it should be: a priority in our education policies, because every child should feel respected, accepted and safe, so that they can learn and thrive in the school environment.”
According to a UNESCO report from 2019, „Behind the numbers: ending school violence and bullying”, more than 30% of the world’s students have been victims of bullying. One in ten students has been cyberbullied, and this form of bullying is on the rise. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cases of cyberbullying experience by both students and teachers are on raise.
Frequently bullied students are three times more likely to feel as outsiders in school and twice more likely to skip school than the ones who do not become targets of this unwanted phenomenon.
The former have poor learning outcomes and are more likely to abandon their studies after secondary school. Their risk of mental health problems doubles, as they become confronted with the feeling of loneliness, insomnia and suicidal thoughts.
Physical appearance is the top reason for bullying, followed by ethnicity, nationality and skin color. Students who are seen as ‘different’ in any way are more at risk of bullying.
Photo credit: Freepik
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