Chapter 1

Introduction

Bullying is prevalent in schools worldwide. Foreign and local reports indicate cases of school
crimes brought about by the occurrence of bullying within the school premise. World Health
Organization’s Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (Craig & Harel, 2004 as cited in James, 2010)
found out that a survey of 35 countries indicate an average incidence rates of 11 percent for both
victims and bullies. There were about 2.7 million students being bullied each year by about 2.1 students
taking on the role of the bully. According to the same WHO report, one (1) out of seven (7)
students in kindergarten through 12th grade have participated in the bullying incidents either as a bully
or as a victim. Accordingly, over half or about 56 percent, of all students have witnesses a bullying
crime inside the school (Bullying Statistics, 2010).

A new UNESCO report confirms that school violence and bullying are major problems
worldwide. The Behind the numbers: Ending school violence and bullying publication, is being released
at the world’s largest gathering of education and skills Ministers, the 2019 Education World Forum taking
place in London (UK) today. It demonstrates that despite the gravity of the problem, some countries
have made significant progress towards reducing, or containing, school violence and bullying.The
publication presents the most up to date and comprehensive evidence on school violence and bullying,
analyzing global and regional prevalence and trends, the nature and impact of the issue, and successful
national responses. It brings together quantitative and qualitative data from a range of global and
regional surveys, covering 144 countries and territories in all regions.Almost one in three students (32%)
has been bullied by their peers at school at least once in the last month and a similar proportion are
affected by physical violence, according to the publication. Physical bullying is the most frequent type of
bullying in many regions, with the exception of North America and Europe, where psychological bullying
is most common. Sexual bullying* is the second most common in many regions. School violence and
bullying affects both male and female students. Physical bullying is more common among boys, while
psychological bullying is more prevalent among girls. Online and mobile phone bullying is also shown to
be increasing.Children who are perceived as different in any way are more likely to be bullied, and
physical appearance is the most common cause of bullying. The second most frequent reasons reported
by students relate to race, nationality or colour. Why this matters: Bullying has a significant negative
effect on children’s mental health, quality of life and academic achievement. Children who are frequently
bullied are nearly three times more likely to feel like an outsider at school and more than twice as likely
to miss school as those who are not frequently bullied. They have worse educational outcomes than
their peers and are also more likely to leave formal education after finishing secondary school (Amelan
2019).

In the Philippines, the Department of Education (DepEd) reported the following statistical
data based on the baseline study on violence against children in public schools. Findings have
shown that 78.36% in high school in urban areas suffered verbal abuse; while 37.57% in high school in
rural areas experienced physical abuse; on the other hand 43.71% in high school in urban areas
experienced verbal sexual abuse and 17.71% of high school students experienced inappropriate
touching committed by peers. Reported cases of bullying for SY 2012-2013 revealed a total of 1,165
cases (DepEd, 2012).