Surveys by Taiwanese non-governmental organization show a growing trend towards bullying on the island.
According to a report on October 9 in Taiwan’s joint daily, a survey conducted by Taiwan’s Alliance for the Convention on the rights of the child on bullying among sixth-grade primary school students found that 36.4 percent of students had been bullied, 46.1% of the students had experience in bullying. Of these bullying students, 20.5% had been bullied and bullied. Wu Jiayun, executive director of the Children and Families Research Center of Taiwan University, said in her analysis that 20 percent of children are both victims and perpetrators. Bullying behaviors may come from experiences of violence, so she has an in-depth understanding of children’s trauma, start a dialogue, can effectively prevent campus bullying. According to Wu, bullying behavior is diverse and complicated, including relationship, verbal, physical and online bullying. Verbal bullying is the most common, with 21.7 percent saying“I’ve been called or scolded by nicknames I don’t like”, 11.9% suffered from“Making fun of me for my physical flaws or appearance”.
The survey also showed that 65.7 percent of the students said they would comfort their bullied friends and 56.7 percent would report the bullying to their teachers, but up to 18 per cent said they would“Ignore it” or“Do nothing”, with 9.1 per cent opting for bullying.
Campus violence on the island has been frequent in recent years. In October last year, the Taoyuan Teachers’ Association and the Industrial Union of schools at all levels in Taoyuan City received four or five reports of teachers being attacked by students. Some teachers were repeatedly injured by students, but parents refused to cooperate. In November last year, a senior student at an elementary school in central Taiwan, who had a grudge against a classmate, and three other students took revenge by filling a canteen with the poisonous juice of Kudzu, the victim of students after drinking abdominal pain and other physical discomfort, the parents call the police to deal with. In December, New Taipei City was rocked by a neck-cutting incident at a middle school. A Ninth grade schoolboy who defended his “Godsister” bled to death after stabbing a high school student in the neck and chest with a concealed switchblade.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Education said Thursday it has noticed bullying on and off campus in recent years. The Alliance for the Convention on the rights of the child in Taiwan said that in the past, the handling of bullying in schools was too focused on the investigation of incidents, turning the campus into a court, and suggested that schools implement and pay attention to the mental health of adolescents in each bullying incident, and improve the fear of bullying, confrontation and power imbalance of the hostile environment, to create a healthy and friendly campus. The group also notes that bullies can vent their stress by attacking children without adult guidance and support, bullies are patient and aggrieved because they are afraid of the consequences of speaking out or lack of channels to seek help. Therefore, adults and teachers should teach children self-awareness, emotion and interpersonal interaction, and encourage children to speak out bravely, and practice facing life’s dilemmas and setbacks.
According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Education, incidents of school bullying have increased from 562 in 2018 to 1,942 in 2022. The number of notifications is increasing, but the confirmation rate is getting lower and lower, according to Taiwan’s United News Network, “These ‘black numbers’ will increase the possibility of future tragedies. Only by facing them squarely and paying attention to them can we truly protect children from being victimized by young souls.”.