Publication date: 23.01.2024
Lawyer, graduated from the National University "Odesa Law Academy" with honors. Since 2017, I have been specializing in legal and educational and general legal issues. I am the author of legal articles, scientific publications and articles in the educational environment. Mentor of the "Veritas" legal clinic. The owner of the legal blog "Educational_law_ua" on Instagram.
Human rights and educational institutions quite often emphasize that one of the urgent problems in educational institutions is the manifestation of bullying towards students by other persons, students whose age category mainly refers to the puberty age, who, unfortunately, cross borders more and more often when communicating with other peers and even apply physical force to them.
- The norms of the Constitution of Ukraine clearly state that no person can be subjected to torture or ill-treatment.
- No person has the right to degrade the dignity of other persons. But in the conditions of social life, unfortunately, citizens of Ukraine do not always remember such legal rules.
- Current legislation in the field of childhood protection defines a principle that guarantees the right to freedom for a child, his personal integrity, as well as the protection of his dignity.
- So, let's explain in more detail about all the main aspects of bullying. First of all, it should be said that these are manifestations of physical or moral violence.
- It can be aggressive behavior in various forms of its manifestation. The main symptom is that the person who was bullied feels fear, anxiety and even subordination of his interests to the "aggressor".
The main signs of bullying should be those that are systematic, that is, they are committed repeatedly and during a certain period of time against a certain person (for example, a student).
- Another sign is that, as a rule, bullying has a three-way relationship: the victim, the perpetrator, and those who passively observe the situation.
- Also, the next sign is physical damage or moral (psychological) trauma of the injured person.
- Such consequences can be introduced both by the active actions of the guilty persons and by their inaction.
- And another big sign of such harassment is the presence of anxiety, fear and humiliation of the victim.
- Manifestations of bullying are prohibited on the territory of Ukraine, and violation of such rules entails a certain type of responsibility.
Yes, if the bullying was committed by a child who has not reached the age of 16, then in this case the parents are responsible for such an act.
- But if the child is over 16 years old, then in this case the child himself will be responsible.
- This is provided for in Article 173-4 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which also defines the specifics of imposing such liability, fines or community service, because here everything depends on the specifics of such actions.
- How to protect a child in case of bullying? It should be understood here that special procedures are defined by legislation.
First of all, you should contact the head of the educational institution, who must report this to the law enforcement authorities, because in case of failure to report, the head must bear legal consequences for violating the procedure.
Also, parents should understand that if there is no reaction from the school management, then the parents themselves or their representatives should contact the higher management bodies of such an institution, the police or the Commissioner for the Protection of Human Rights. In addition, you can contact the educational ombudsman of Ukraine in order to respond to such gross violations of children's rights in the educational environment.
