Prologue Journal

1 in 3 Hong Kong upper primary students have been bullied at school, survey finds

• prologu5
• 09/12/202409/12/2024

Hong Kong Free Press

About one in three upper primary pupils in Hong Kong have been bullied at school, a survey has found, as an NGO launched a campaign calling for “zero tolerance” of bullying.

Hong Kong has seen a rise in youth suicides in the past year, with the suicide rate for girls under 15 increasing seven-fold, according to figures published on Tuesday by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention. Some experts had identified bullying in schools as a cause for the rise.

The Hong Kong Council of Early Childhood Education and Services (CECES) on Wednesday released the results of a survey of 272 grade five and six pupils, as well as 131 parents and 125 teachers, conducted in July.

Among the pupils surveyed, 34.9 per cent said they had been bullied, while 51.4 per cent said they had witnessed bullying in schools.

A total of 16.8 per cent of those who had been bullied reported having suicidal thoughts, while 22.1 per cent reported a tendency to self-harm, the NGO said in a press release.

“Abuse and bullying take all kinds of forms,” said Sansan Ching, the founder and director of CECES. “It’s not just physical violence, there’s also emotional threats [and] sexual types of abuse.”

Common acts of bullying included mocking or verbal abuse, Ching said in a press conference on Wednesday, adding that cyberbullying had become increasingly prevalent.

In more serious cases, the bullying involved physical abuse and gang violence, she said.

There were also more subtle forms of bullying in schools such as social isolation, said Doris Chan, a psychiatrist with experience of handling child abuse cases.

Speaking during the same press conference, Chan said she had seen cases of youngsters constantly being excluded from group projects, or girls being made to feel like they had to routinely buy gifts for their friends to maintain a relationship.

Pupils with behavioural differences, looked “different” to their peers, experienced speech difficulties, were physically weak, or had trouble socialising with others were more at risk of being bullied, the survey found.

Ching also said most victims of bullying were reluctant to open up about their experience because they felt ashamed.

“[Victims] feel so ashamed of themselves, they feel guilty for being a victim,” she said in response to questions posed by HKFP. “They feel they have done something wrong, [and] that’s why they are being maltreated.”

Chan said children may not feel comfortable talking about “humiliating” experiences, such as being socially excluded.

But adults also played a role because parents and teachers tended to be ignorant about the signs and impacts of bullying, she said.

“Parents sometimes are not aware of the severity [of bullying] … they think it’s children’s affairs and let them sort [it] by themselves,” she said.

‘Whole society’

The survey also found that 53.4 per cent of parents said they were not able to handle their child being bullied at school, while 57.6 per cent of teachers said they did not have enough time to handle such situations.

Ching said the current guidelines provided by the Education Bureau regarding bullying were “definitely not enough,” adding that there were not enough social workers in schools to address the issue.

The NGO launched a campaign called “Nurture our future” this month, aiming to bring cases of bullying to zero within a decade.

Ching said 30 primary schools would be recruited to join the campaign later this month, while a summit promoting awareness and coping strategies of bullying would be organised next month.

A series of educational effort promoting anti-bullying knowledge and skills was also in the pipeline this academic year, she added.

The consequences of bullying could be far-reaching as the experience could damage people’s self-esteem and cause long-term psychological illnesses such as depression, she said, adding that research had shown bullies tended to be victims of bullying in their early years.

“This is something the whole society has to get involved in, not just the schools,” Ching said.

In July, Hong Kong passed a bill requiring people from 25 professional sectors such as teachers, social workers and doctors to report suspected child abuse cases to authorities. Those who fail to comply could face up to three months in prison and a fine of HK$50,000.

While the newly-enacted requirement only covered cases of serious physical harm, Ching said a more detailed guideline providing definitions of bullying acts and relevant interventions should be developed to equip those in the 25 related professions.

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https://hongkongfp.com/2024/09/12/1-in-3-hong-kong-upper-primary-students-have-been-bullied-at-school-survey-finds/