The State Duma discussed the law on bullying at school: “Nip it in the bud”

The tragedy in Bryansk, where an 8th grade student committed a bloody massacre against her offenders, once again exposed the problem of bullying in schools. At a plenary session in the State Duma, legislators decided what exactly needed to be done to “eradicate bullying” of some children against others.

The task of preventing such phenomena at school was set by the Speaker of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin to his colleagues in the relevant committees. And the first deputy chairman of the Duma Committee on Education, Yana Lantratova, said that there is already a bill on the prevention of bullying in educational institutions. And parliamentarians will submit it for consideration to the State Duma in the near future.

At the same plenary meeting, deputy Valery Hartung proposed introducing the concept of “bullying” into Russian legislation. He suggested that “for every severe case of school bullying with severe consequences, there are probably about a hundred other smaller cases.” Therefore, it is necessary to find “legislative solutions” in order to “nip the phenomenon of bullying in the bud.”

It was also said at the plenary that psychologists in schools should do better. “Their work should not be of a sham nature,” believes deputy Biysultan Khamzaev. And “it is also necessary to hold large parent meetings once a quarter to discuss sensitive topics, including those related to bullying at school,” he added.

“We will try to quickly introduce our bill on the prevention of bullying in educational institutions,” Yana Lantratova promised.

The mentioned bill appeared in 2022, after the tragedy in Izhevsk, where a former graduate attacked his school, killing 18 people (11 of them children). In the same year, there was an attack on a kindergarten in the Ulyanovsk region, where two children and one adult became victims of the shooter. Earlier, in 2021, the country was shocked by the tragedy at Perm State University, where a freshman attacked other students and teachers with a pump-action shotgun and killed 6 people.

“I believe that there is no need to introduce anything additional,” says Lidia Leonidova, head teacher of a Moscow school. – The main person in preventing bullying and conflicts in classes is a social psychologist. And behind him is the class teacher. In schools where both of these professionals work well, bullying will not occur. I am also a class teacher, and I can say with confidence that if someone is offended or teased in the class, this is decided in conjunction with parents, children, and the teacher, and nothing else. But it happens that the teacher is young, or the parents are stubborn, react inappropriately, or the children play in silence… Then the social teacher helps a lot, he coordinates everyone and involves a school psychologist. And PDN, as a last resort. I would also like to remind you that each school now has a deputy director for educational work and a specialist in educational work. They, too, may well become involved in the prevention of bullying.

Meanwhile, a social survey on bullying conducted in Russia in 2021 showed that more than 30% of current adults at school have experienced bullying. A third of those surveyed were themselves targets of bullying, another third were witnesses.

“Bullying is an integral part of children’s groups in their “habitat,” says system psychologist Ilya Sentsov. — In a scientific or sports school, where children are measured by real achievements, and not by abstract “coolness,” in a private gymnasium with classes for 8-9 people, the situation will be different. Although no one is safe there either. But in an ordinary class of 30 people with a mixed social environment, bullying is almost guaranteed for children.

Boys of the neurotic type in prepubescence tend to drown the weak in order to stand out from their background. In high school, the leaders in organizing bullying often become girls, such “queens” surrounded by a “group of like-minded people.” The instigator is often socially disadvantaged or has low self-esteem, which she seeks to bolster with popularity. But it happens that a child projects the attitudes of an overbearing parent, father or mother, who puts forward strict demands on the child.

The conflict can also be of a personal nature. Then anyone becomes a victim of persecution. The rest of the class is divided into “chosen ones”, friends of the leader and perpetrators of bullying. There is a herd feeling at work here, especially developed in adolescents, for whom belonging to a group, to “their own” is critically important. And attempts, too, to become “chosen”, to move up in the class hierarchy. And the fear of becoming a victim yourself and, finally, indifference to the object of persecution.

I want to emphasize that if such a hierarchy and a core of instigators have already formed in the class, it is almost impossible for the victim to get out of the scheme without the help of adults. At best, the child will endure bullying until graduation. At worst, it is destructive stress that traumatizes the psyche.

Meanwhile, measures and directions for eradicating bullying have long been developed. These include: social-emotional learning programs that help children develop empathy, cooperation and conflict resolution skills; training teachers and school administrators on how to recognize and prevent bullying; creating a zero-tolerance school bullying policy that includes tough penalties for offenders; regular monitoring of the psychological climate at school and taking measures to improve the situation.