Article 19 of the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child declares that all children have the right to protection from physical and mental abuse or mistreatment. This should be the case for all children and adolescents around the world. Unfortunately, a 16-year-old adolescent from Asturias, Spain, ended her life last October after years of bullying at school and in the virtual environment. Sometimes family members become aware of bullying when it is too late, and they can do nothing about it. But this time, as her mother says, they already knew about it. The family had reported it and brought it to the attention of the school authorities, who applied the anti-bullying protocol, but the result shows that it did not help to stop the continuous harassment that the teenager received.
This is not a coincidence, but a causality, as for some time now we have been seeing how the hoaxes of false ‘experts’ and people who rely on their own experience to advise what to do in cases of bullying have been spreading in schools. This is harmful, as they are not based on the scientific evidence of social impact, which are evidence-based actions that have demonstrated good results in all contexts in which they are applied. As recently published in the report of the Network of Experts working on the Social dimension of Education and Training (NESET) “Achieving student well-being for all: educational contexts free of violence”, there are evidence-based actions with social impact are carried out in schools that help to prevent violence. Among them is the Zero Violence Brave Club, which has proven to reduce peer bullying in schools by fostering and promoting a culture of zero tolerance for violence in educational settings across various socioeconomic and cultural contexts.
In this sense, the media play a crucial role in addressing the bullying problem as when they spread inaccurate or misleading information about bullying, they unintentionally contribute to its perpetuation. Many television series and films that claim to address bullying often fail to prevent it and instead worsen the situation for countless children and adolescents. By sensationalizing or mishandling the topic, these portrayals can normalize aggressive behaviors or even glamorize the role of bullies, leading to harmful consequences. The paradox lies in the fact that the more bullying is discussed irresponsibly, the more it is encouraged, further fueling violent behaviors.
In response to this growing concern, there is now a rising call from various groups for increased resources to prevent bullying in educational settings. However, these efforts to increase resources often focus on superficial or misinformed approaches rather than addressing the root causes of the problem using evidence-based actions. To invest in resources that propagate ineffective solutions is akin to producing more medicines that fail to cure a disease—an effort that may look proactive on the surface but ultimately does little to resolve the issue. Thus, if we really want to save the lives of children and adolescents, we need to apply effective solutions with social impact.
(Image from freepik)
Associate professor of Sociology at the University of Girona
Assistant Lecturer at the University of the Basque Country