World Day against bullying: about a thousand children and teenagers a year suffer bullying in Spain

In 2018, 954 complaints of minors were presented for harassment in the classrooms, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Interior. In his Master Plan for Coexistence and Improvement of Safety in Educational Centers and their Environments, he proposes advice to end this childish scourge.

Although this figure is lower than that of 2017, when 1,054 cases of threats were counted, it continues to exceed those of the last seven years, during which 6,454 complaints of bullying have been registered.

Therefore today, World Bullying Day, we must talk about the issue and mentalize ourselves to fight so that next year we will talk about zero cases.

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Data from the Ministry indicate that there are hardly any differences in cases of bullying between boys (50.9%) and girls (49.1%), and that the majority of complaints are about injuries (55.3%), followed due to threats (18.7%) and degrading treatment (6.2%).

However, only one in three affected children dares to denounce this situation, explains CEAPA (Spanish Confederation of Associations of Parents of Students). To change this situation, they also propose a small manual for parents where they explain how to act.

Cyberbullying cases do not stop growing

The Anar Foundation (Assistance to Children and Adolescents at Risk) has warned of the serious consequences and the increase of cyberbullying. As reflected in the 'III Study on bullying and cyberbullying', carried out in collaboration with the Mutua Madrileña Foundation, Internet harassment already accounts for 24.7% of total cases of bullying, insults and threats being their most common form.

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In addition, 90% of minors who suffer bullying have psychological problems (anxiety, depression and permanent fear) and 13% of victims have to change schools.

This latest study of bullying, published in October 2018, also revealed that more than a third of children who suffer from bullying do not tell their parents and the rest take between 13 and 15 months on average to ask for help.

How to recognize the signs of harassment

If they tell us, parents should take action and know how to recognize if our child is being a victim of cyberbullying.

María Guerrero, expert psychologist of the Qustodio security platform, advises to prevent it "Set limits to enter the Internet".

If the child since he begins to interact in the network is supervised and accompanied by adults, he will learn to surf the internet safely from the beginning. "

And is that his study 'Minors and the Internet: the pending subject of Spanish parents', also notes that cases of Internet harassment of children and adolescents do not stop rising and begin especially after 12.2 years, affecting more to girls (66%).

And to help families, he has analyzed the main symptoms that warn that a child may be suffering from this type of situation:

  • Psychological problems. Anxiety, stress, depression or lack of sleep are some of the consequences of suffering school hardship. Problems that may accompany them up to 40 years later, according to a study at King's College From london.

In the case of cyberbullying, unlike 'traditional harassment', the child can be harassed at any time and from anywhere.

  • Changes in the use of new technologies. This type of harassment based on humiliations, threats and blackmail through the Internet and social networks can cause the victim to drastically and suddenly change the way they use the devices, getting to do it secretly from their family or even cause a total disconnection .
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  • Breaking social relations. Constant harassment impacts self-esteem and your confidence in those around you. In this sense, it is essential to be alert if the child stops talking to his friends forever or leaving home.

  • Lack of interest in the school. Many of these situations happen in the classroom, so it is common for them to lose interest in everything related to school, even not going to class or requesting a change of school.

  • Increase in school failure. 28% of children affected by cyberbullying said their performance in studies has decreased since they began to suffer harassment, according to the ANAR Foundation. Therefore, parents should talk with their children if they notice a marked drop in their grades, especially if they talk about a student with good results.

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