Journalists investigate school bullying
Why is the "evil" in the hidden corners repeated?
There have been many sensational school bullying incidents recently: in Mianyang, Sichuan, a 13-year-old girl was slapped in the face and stomped on the head by several other girls in turn. , a 16-year-old girl has been bullied on campus for a long time, and the assailant also made video calls with others to show off. The girl who was bullied was almost insane; in Nanchang, Jiangxi, a girl was stripped of her pants by several students and forced to drink an unknown yellow liquid...
Campus bullying has always happened secretly in a corner invisible to adults.
In recent years, with the development of the Internet, traditional campus bullying has been exposed to people in the form of more intense pictures or videos, and emerging cyberbullying has flooded social platforms or online post bars. These "evil" happenings in hidden corners are outrageous.
For campus bullying, the society does not lack attention, and related governance has been on the way, but it has been repeated repeatedly. What are the difficulties in governance?
How can we effectively prevent similar behavior from happening again?
Focusing on these issues, the Jingwei Edition of the Rule of Law will launch the column "Guarding Children and Rectifying School Bullying" from today, and publish a series of reports, so stay tuned.
□ Our reporter Wen Lijuan
One evening, on the way home from school, Wang Lin, a second-year junior high school student, sneezed loudly, and the girls who were walking in front squinted and turned their heads in unison... Like all campus bullying incidents, because of this A trivial matter, Wang Lin fell into a nightmare situation.
Her homework was smeared in a mess, stationery was often missing, she was forced to sing vulgar songs, dance strangely, and was beaten from time to time; she was humiliated and isolated, and her bullies even forced her to steal things from the supermarket.
She asked her classmates for help, but everyone was worried about getting angry, and the teacher didn't notice her abnormality.
Slowly, Wang Lin became more and more withdrawn, and finally suffered from depression.
In the second semester, Wang Lin transferred to another school, but there are still many rumors about her: "I walked out of the toilet with a few boys", "I went to the game hall with ×× to play all night"... Thinking of what happened at that time, now As an adult, she still shivered.
"The damage to the soul may not be healed in a lifetime." Wang Lin told the "Rule of Law Daily" reporter.
It is not uncommon to see people who have had similar experiences with Wang Lin.
Every once in a while, various campus bullying incidents will appear in the newspapers and become the focus of social attention.
Regarding school bullying, many interviewed experts said that it is different from the short-term violence that occurs in schools, but a "long-term, continuous, secret, and difficult to detect directly" mental injury.
Because of this, in the face of bullying, those children who are forced into a desperate situation are often unable to communicate normally with classmates, teachers, parents, etc.; on the other hand, some children who have been bullied have become new perpetrators.
What happened to the kids involved?
How to reduce or even eliminate such incidents?
School bullying occurs frequently
Seriously endanger physical and mental health
13-year-old Li Xiaowan was bullied because of her appearance.
At the beginning of last year, she transferred from other provinces to a middle school in Guangdong Province, and became a thorn in the side of several female students in the class.
They laughed at her for being "fat" and "ugly" at every opportunity, and deliberately cluttered her belongings or hid her stationery.
At first, Li Xiaowan comforted herself, "It's okay, just don't care."
But those girls intensified, teasing her in the dormitory day after day, and humiliating her together with the male classmates in the class, saying that she "is so ugly, how dare she live", etc., and sometimes even pulled and pushed her.
For fear of being retaliated against, Li Xiaowan dared not tell his teachers and parents about these things, and became depressed and his grades plummeted.
After the parents noticed the abnormality, they repeatedly asked the reason, but she avoided answering.
It wasn't until Li Xiaowan wrote a note to the teacher that "living is meaningless, death is relief" after being surrounded and beaten.
Different from Li Xiaowan's silence, Wu Yong from Shaoyang, Hunan chose to use violence to control violence after being bullied, and even became a new perpetrator.
Books were urinated, desks were filled with rubbish, bicycle tires were deliberately punctured, and he was forced to take off his shoes and urinate in the urinal... After being abused for 3 months as a freshman in high school, Wu Yong chose to resist.
During a class break, four or five classmates surrounded Wu Yong in the bicycle shed of the school and bullied him. Wu Yong couldn't bear it anymore and rushed out of the siege, returned home, picked up a kitchen knife and returned to school, kicked open the classroom door and rushed towards the classmates who bullied him.
Since then, he has become the "second in command" in the class and participated in several beating incidents.
"Others will never experience the feeling of isolation and helplessness. The so-called good students in the class are watching with cold eyes. I can only protect myself by becoming fiercer and stronger." Recalling that experience, Wu Yong still feels both heartbroken and regretful .
According to a 2018 UNICEF report, bullying is one of the most common forms of violence in schools, affecting more than a third of students aged 13 to 15 worldwide and nearly 30 percent of them Will not resist.
The reporter combed through public reports and found that in recent years, news about campus bullying has emerged one after another, and the age of the students involved is getting younger and younger.
For example, in July this year, a bullying incident occurred in a primary school in Zunyi City, Guizhou Province. Online videos showed that the two girls who were bullying blocked the victim at the stairs and corners, slapped the victim repeatedly, and hit her on the head and mouth. Constantly swearing.
"Young age and concealment are new features of campus bullying in recent years." Ren Haitao, a professor at the Law School of East China Normal University and deputy director of the Minor School Protection Research Center, has long been concerned about this issue. He found that with economic and social development, due to The phenomenon of beating and swearing for stealing money is gradually decreasing, and relationship bullying, verbal bullying, and cyberbullying are increasing. For example, several classmates unite to isolate a certain classmate, or insult and ridicule him. stronger.
The impact of school bullying is far-reaching and huge.
Li Jingsi, a national second-level psychological counselor, told reporters that those children who were bullied in childhood will encounter greater psychological distress when they grow up, with depression, anxiety, cognitive impairment and even the risk of suicide.
"The stress that bullying creates on the victim 'writes' into the subconscious mind, triggering psychological or physical stress, triggering emotional and environmental sensitivity, and even lingering psychosomatic illness. Symptoms of these pains that appear early in life If left untreated, it can also become a significant source of psychological problems later in life. In addition, a person who suffers from bullying at the beginning, if not effectively contained, may bring more harm from peers or adults, severe bullying Behavior is likely to create a cycle of victimization that lasts a lifetime, and the 'deformed orientation' of others and self-cognition may also affect more areas of life." Li Jingsi said.
And students who commit serious bullying, if they are not effectively educated and controlled, are also prone to commit crimes.
The "White Paper on Juvenile Procuratorial Work (2021)" issued by the Supreme People's Procuratorate shows that from 2017 to 2021, the number of people approved by the procuratorial organs to arrest campus bullying and violent crimes was 4,157, 2,785, 1,667, 583, and 581, respectively. .
Some schools calm down
Teachers lack relevant training
There are many reasons for the frequent occurrence of school bullying.
Many interviewed experts pointed out that in addition to the growth characteristics of teenagers themselves, the family environment, campus environment, and social environment are all driving factors behind it.
Pi Yijun, a professor at China University of Political Science and Law and director of the Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Justice Research Center, analyzed that whether they are perpetrators or victims of campus bullying, they lack rational thinking when encountering problems.
The perpetrator vents the resentment in his heart through bullying, so as to eliminate his own frustration, or use violence to prove his existence and gain a sense of accomplishment; while the victim often does not know how to seek help. Some children dare not speak up and resist after being bullied. One is that I am afraid that the bully will retaliate, and the other is that I don’t want to alarm the parents and make things worse, but the more I do this, the easier it is to be bullied.
"In the face of campus bullying, some schools choose to keep things quiet, and some schools lack relevant regulations. They only pay lip service to stop campus bullying, but have not put it into practice." Pi Yijun said.
Ren Haitao found in his research that most families and schools lack education on campus bullying. Students don't know what campus bullying is, and they don't know who to go to when bullying occurs.
Even in some places, schools have clearly discovered the phenomenon of campus bullying, but they still have to cover it up, because they are worried that "once it is identified as campus bullying, it will be rejected by one vote in the construction of a civilized city."
"The campus is a microcosm of the external society, a reflection of the adult world, and a direct reflection of the educational environment. However, schools often intervene after bullying occurs. In addition, some schools adopt too traditional methods of dealing with bullying. There is no attempt to systematically understand the relationship between the bully and the bullied, as well as the reasons behind the bullying behavior, and even in some schools, teachers use beating and scolding to educate students." Ren Haitao said.
Wang Xi, a middle school teacher in Guangdong Province, has a deep understanding of this.
She noticed that the school does not pay enough attention to campus bullying, and teachers avoid or pay little attention to such phenomena, and lack relevant training. Teachers cannot discover such phenomena in the first place. There is no good way to reconcile, or even understand the situation of the bullying parties, which also makes some students unwilling to seek help from teachers after being bullied.
Wu Yong recalled that once he tried to ask his teacher for help after being bullied, but the teacher only gave him a sentence: "Flies don't bite seamless eggs, and a slap doesn't make a sound."
Wu Yong was shocked after hearing this, and never communicated with the teacher again.
"Research has found that most of the bullies and the bullied come from overly doting or strict families and families that neglect children too much. Such parent-child relationships can make children's interpersonal skills and self-perception abnormal. , such as thinking that they are too strong and domineering, or that they are too weak and unable to resist when things happen.” Li Jingsi said that although school bullying occurs among children, it is also an adult problem. I choose to ignore my own affairs, or procrastinate to solve them. This is the culprit for decades of bullying that has not subsided.
It is worth noting that in the recent school bullying incidents, the perpetrators' words such as "it is useless to call the police" and "we are not adults" are shocking.
Wang Wensheng, executive director of the Chinese Society of Criminology, said that the Criminal Law Amendment (Eleventh) has revised the age of criminal responsibility. People who have reached the age of 12 but not yet 14 commit the crime of intentional homicide, intentional injury, causing death or using particularly cruel means. Those who cause serious injuries and serious disabilities, and the circumstances are abominable, shall be held criminally responsible upon the approval of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.
People who have reached the age of 14 but have not yet reached the age of 16 commit the crimes of intentional homicide, intentional injury causing serious injury or death, rape, robbery, drug trafficking, arson, explosion, or throwing dangerous substances, and shall bear criminal responsibility.
The perpetrator emphasized that he was underage, and there was obviously a fluke mentality of ignorance, which further showed that the campus should strengthen the publicity and education of the rule of law.
Difficulty in proving evidence
Students' cognition is vague
As early as April 2016, the Office of the Education Steering Committee of the State Council issued the "Notice on Carrying out Special Treatment of School Bullying" to conduct a nine-month special treatment of student bullying in schools (including secondary vocational schools and private schools) in various places.
In recent years, the rectification of campus bullying has also been increasing.
In December 2017, the Ministry of Education, together with 11 departments including the Ministry of Public Security, issued the "Strengthening the Comprehensive Treatment Plan for Bullying of Primary and Secondary School Students", which clarified the judging criteria, prevention and punishment measures for student bullying, and established long-term measures such as training, evaluation, and accountability. mechanism.
In April 2018, the Office of the Education Steering Committee of the State Council issued the "Notice on Carrying out Actions for the Year of Bullying Prevention and Control of Primary and Secondary School Students", requiring schools in all regions to clarify the work organization, office phone number and implementation plan for the prevention and control of student bullying, and to detail the implementation of various measures for the prevention and control of student bullying. measure.
In October 2020, the revision of the Law on the Protection of Minors was passed, which clearly stipulates that schools should establish a system for the prevention and control of student bullying.
For a long time, relevant departments and public opinion have paid close attention to the phenomenon of campus bullying, but why does campus bullying still occur frequently?
What are the difficulties in its governance?
According to the analysis of the industry insiders and experts interviewed, the main reasons are the difficulties in identification, discovery and proof.
"At present, there is a lack of scientific and authoritative classification methods. What kind of behavior can be identified as campus bullying, and how is it different from classmates' fights and adolescent pranks? These all need scientific identification." Pi Yijun said. , The first is the classification of the means, and the second is the identification of the hazard, whether it is physical injury, property damage or mental injury, and the degree of harm requires professional assessment.
He told reporters that the current determination of the consequences of injury mainly depends on the degree of physical injury, often ignoring the psychological and spiritual harm to minors.
For example, a bully who isolates, ridicules, and discriminates against the bullied may not have any minor injuries after identification, but has caused serious psychological damage.
Wang Xi also noticed that in actual handling, except for very obvious acts of violence, if students do not take the initiative to report, the teacher can only make judgments based on teaching experience.
She hopes to introduce clearer identification standards for campus bullying, because different identification standards for bullying will lead to different punishments and affect the overall governance effect.
Zhang Qiang, a 14-year-old second-year junior high school student, is studying in a middle school in Jiangsu Province. He has seen many senior students snatch toys and food from younger students.
There was a boy in his class who often forced his classmates to wash socks and buy food for him. "If you don't listen to him, you will be beaten."
"These people usually choose the location of the violence in hidden places such as dormitories and toilets. Some people are in charge of sentry. They will end before the teacher arrives. Some see the teacher coming and pretend to show concern for the bullied classmates. The targets of bullying are often thin and timid classmates, and they dare not speak up, let alone tell the teacher, for fear of being retaliated." Zhang Qiang said.
The reporter noticed that although many schools have promoted the prevention of campus bullying, some students still do not have a particularly clear concept.
For some students who forced others to wash socks and buy food for them, Zhang Qiang felt that this could only be regarded as "bullying". ".
Build a complete anti-bullying system
Carry out long-term governance according to law
The "Regulations on the Protection of Schools for Minors", which will come into effect on September 1, 2021, further enumerates what constitutes campus bullying.
For example, between students, one party who is superior in age, body, or number etc. intentionally or maliciously beats, kicks, slaps, bites, pushes, or pulls the other party in order to insult, ridicule, ridicule, sarcasm, or insult the other party. Sexual nicknames and other methods infringe on the personal dignity of others, snatch, take forcibly, or intentionally destroy other people’s property, maliciously exclude and isolate others, fabricate facts to slander others through the Internet or other information transmission methods, spread rumors or wrong information to slander others, and maliciously spread others Privacy, etc., can be identified as constituting bullying.
In Wang Xi's view, this regulation can increase teachers and students' understanding of "campus bullying", which has certain practical significance.
Based on this, schools should refine the relevant rules and standardize the handling, so that there is no ambiguity in bullying.
The interviewed experts proposed that a student bullying management committee should be established, and the members should be composed of school principals, teacher representatives, parent representatives, student representatives, community resident representatives, and social professionals in the fields of education and psychology, and be responsible for the investigation and identification of school bullying ,deal with.
"Schools should establish a complete anti-bullying system, set up special agencies, regularly carry out anti-bullying education, publish complaint mailboxes and telephone numbers, and assign professional psychological teachers so that campus bullying can be effectively contained and dealt with when there are slight signs. At the same time, in In the process of preventing bullying, dealing with bullying, and tracking bullying governance, there must be a complete contingency plan system.” Ren Haitao said that the establishment of a long-term mechanism for preventing school bullying, from discovery to punishment, should be included in the framework of the rule of law.
Pi Yijun suggested that an atmosphere of "zero tolerance for bullying on campus" should be created, and students who bully others should reflect in front of the whole class, and let parents apologize to the bullied students in public to eliminate the impact.
Children who bully others may also have the experience of being bullied. They are weak inside and want to use utilitarian means to obtain false friendships.
If parents find that their children are bullying others, they must first clearly express that this is wrong, tell the children to understand the feelings of others, and at the same time reflect on their own education.
"It is the responsibility of the society to solve the problems of juveniles." Pi Yijun appealed that schools should formulate a campus convention on the prevention of school bullying. Each school can do it according to the actual situation, govern the school with rules, and form a full participation in the boycott The atmosphere of campus bullying and not being a bystander.
Li Jingsi believes that the behavior of bystanders in school bullying can be improved through the cultivation of early empathy.
Therefore, teachers and parents can cultivate their empathy by encouraging their children to be righteous in a certain situation, and let them know how to protect themselves and others. For example, when children see others being teased or treated unkindly, Let him empathize with "If it were you, how would you like your friends to help you"?
Based on his own teaching experience, Wang Xi proposed that schools can implement a system of teachers on duty around the clock to reduce the space for campus bullying from an institutional perspective.
"Although education is very important, the causes of some students' problems are more complicated, and the family factors behind them must also be taken into account. In addition, legal clarification is also required for some serious situations that are difficult for schools to handle."
Wu Yong, who has been bullied and bullied others, suggested that campus bullying should be stopped from multiple dimensions of school, society and family.
At school, the teacher should pay as much attention to the situation of each student as possible, and individually ask the children in the class who is often bullied; when they get home, parents should pay attention to the child’s mental state after entering a grade, and listen to the children’s problems at school. Grievance; outside the school, people in the society need to lend a helping hand when encountering bullying incidents. Can rewards and punishments be introduced to increase the intensity of infringement claims against the guardians of the perpetrators and institutions responsible for guardianship, and at the same time reward those who stop campus bullying?
"Bullying is like an exam for students, families, schools, and society. It only happens when they fail." Wu Yong said.
(The students interviewed in this article are all pseudonyms)
Comics/Gao Yue