Education. This is the key with which you can prevent school bullying. At least 3 out of 5 parents believe this, according to what the V Study on the perception of bullying in Spanish societyprepared by Totto and Educar es Todo, on the occasion of the International Day against School Violence and Bullyingwhich is celebrated on Thursday, November 7.
The data are worrying because cases of harassment have increased among the minors from 5 to 18 years old: 24.7% declare having suffered harassment, a percentage that stood at 23.2% in 2023 and 21.8% in 2022. That is, practically 1 in 4 minors declare having been a victim . In fact, 30% of Spaniards claim that their children have suffered bullying at school, and the children themselves have told them.
As relevant data, it is worth highlighting that the bullied children declare that, during the bullying episode, received support from their parents (86.4%), followed by the support of their friends (65.4%), and only 36% of those bullied received support from the educational institution and 46% from their teacher (46.2%).
When asked if they have ever harassed someone, 80% of children say never, but 30% have on some occasion insulted, mocked or thrown objects at a colleague. In addition, 9% have insulted people online and 8% have uploaded photos or videos to social networks or WhatsApp without their consent.
The study, which includes the opinions of 1,732 minors, parents and teachers, also reveals that 3 out of 5 parents consider that they are the cause of their children bullying. Therefore, they consider that educating in empathy and respect at home it could be prevented. In addition, almost 8 out of 10 parents think that they themselves can do the most to eradicate he bullying. Teachers think the same: it is at home where most should be done (89.2%).
According to the report data, the percentage of children who have witnessed some type of bullying (40%), however, they increasingly prefer to get involved less and stay on the sidelines (46.3%).
It is striking that 17.7% of parents (2023, 14.8%) think that their child is capable of bullying. This figure rises to 20% in the case of parents of children between 5 and 9 years old. Only 9% have had evidence of harassment of other classmates by their children. Pressure from the group of friends (89.0%); the values that are transmitted from society itself (88.5%); The lack of respect for differences (87.1%) and the lack of emotional management in conflict resolution (86.5%) are, for adults, the main aspects that most influence when harassment occurs. school.
The presentation of the study, which took place this Wednesday at the CaixaForum in Madrid, also featured the intervention of the psychologist Diana Jimenezwhich has explained how different educational styles (permissive, authoritarian and democratic) can promote or reduce bullying in our society.
«We parents have a leading role and that is good news because it is in our hands. “We are agents of change,” explained Jiménez. “But, at the same time, it is painful,” he said, “because sometimes we want to look the other way.”
How a minor acts is something that should be analyzed but focusing on the adult, “just as Alfred Adlerfather of the positive psychology“He has taught us.” In this sense, the expert recalled how many times insults or nicknames come from the home itself. «Phrases like: Are you stupid? No one can stand you! They are very common in homes. “We parents have to consider what kind of coach we want to be with our children.”
Thus, he recalled how authoritarian style It is characterized by “children who do not make good decisions” and he recalled that the democratic style “is the one that has proven to help the most because it instills values such as respect, responsibility, coherence, empathy… while setting, in turn, limits.” ».
Throughout the study, questions have been asked to both mothers, fathers, teachers, and minors, about the measures they think can help eradicate bullying: establish clear protocols to detect it early and to act once it occurs; prioritize dialogue and joint resolution; search for and understand the reasons behind the bullies’ behavior; focusing on strategies and programs that prevent bullying before it occurs and raising students’ awareness of the consequences were the most repeated.
The new technologies have also been analyzed in the study, since the cyberbullying amplifies harassment. The artificial intelligence Open source (AI) has been the great technological revolution of the last year, but the possibility of using it improperly generates fear in mothers, fathers and teachers. In this sense, more than 60% of parents and 70% of teachers are very or quite afraid of the access that children may have to this new technology, which can cause new events such as Almendralejo.
“AI has the ability to make real what is false,” he recalled. Laura Davaraan expert in networks, AI and minors, who has insisted on “the great responsibility” that parents have when using a technology that “although it can be used to identify bullying, it is also capable of silencing it.”
«Another way of bullying that we are not aware of is by posting photos of our children on social networks,” he added. Natalia Diazbetter known on networks as @medianoche.tube, activist for children’s rights and precursor of the anti-sharenting movement in Spain. According to a study by the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), 72% of the material seized from convicted sexual offenders are everyday non-sexualized images of minors. «We expose our children with the best of intentions – he explained – but we do not know where their images will end up: in a pedophile network or in the hands of a stalker. Our children have the right to privacy, to be protected. Let’s reflect on why we do it, if it is necessary and whether or not this publication can harm our son,” he concluded.
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