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Anastasia Balezdrova

One out of three secondary school students is, or has been, a victim of school bullying, and one in two has witnessed the phenomenon. The data are from a piece of research conducted in six European countries that ranks Bulgaria and Greece third and fourth in Europe respectively, with 34.66% and 31.98% of cases of this ever-increasing type of violence. Lithuania with 51.65% and Estonia with 50.20% rank first and second respectively.

The results of the research were presented at the 1st European Anti-Bullying Network Conference.

The researchers state that the cases of a child becoming a toy in the hands of the other students, just because "this is funny", are becoming more common and warn that children can be particularly cruel in certain conditions.

The most typical example of this in Greece was the case of 11-year-old Alex Meshiesvili who was reported missing from his home in Veria in February 2006. At first, the search for him was initiated as a search for a missing child but the investigation showed that he had become the victim of violence exercised by his classmates. The body of the child has never been found but his classmates and attackers admitted in court that they had killed him.

"The results of the research show that school bullying is widespread and occurs almost everywhere. The lives of many children are seriously affected and even ruined because of this phenomenon, so it is very important to be opposed to it in an organized manner. We can significantly reduce the problems it causes if we unite our efforts," said psychology professor at the University of Bergen (Norway) Dan Olweus.

He described the victims of school bullying as depressed, cautious, insecure, unhappy. Often they have no friends and if they are boys, they are usually physically weaker than others are.

The attackers in turn have a strong need to impose their will on others. They are impulsive and easily become violent, they show very little understanding towards the victims of school bullying, and often demonstrate aggression towards adults, including their parents and teachers. In the majority of cases, they are involved in other activities such as vandalism, different offences and drug use. When they are boys, they are generally physically stronger in comparison with the others, and especially with their victims.

The results of the research also show that usually the number of attackers in a class is 2-3. Often they are boys but some of them are girls. Furthermore, among them can be found children who do not demonstrate aggressiveness in their life. They usually attack when they are irritated by the success of another child.
 
In recent years, the development and spread of new technologies has led to an increase in the cases of school bullying, especially because they carry it beyond school and continue it outside it.

And the consequences are severe. As stated by Olweus, those people who are victims of school bullying often show symptoms of depression about 7 years later. In confirmation of his words, he said that Swedish researchers have estimated that every case of avoiding violence at school saves the state about 1.5 million euro.

Olweus added that the problem can be overcome with research and proper application of its results.

The conference presented the European anti-bullying campaign the motto of which is "Make a difference. Speak now ".

The campaign involves organizations from Bulgaria, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and its coordinator is the Greek organization "The Smile of the Child". The six countries are also members of the European Anti-bullying Network that unites the efforts of 17 partners from 12 countries in total.

The network aims to improve the efficiency of the available means to combat the phenomenon, to inform and engage the European citizens in it and create a European strategy to eliminate it.