Bullying is not a toy for children

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The draft law will create a Unified Standard for the Prevention of Bullying and implement a similar state program. The document, which RSpectr has reviewed, proposes to enshrine the concept of bullying, including cyberbullying. The definitions of bullying proposed by lawmakers cover both psychological and physical aspects of aggressive behavior towards schoolchildren by their peers. Experts note that effective prevention of bullying should include training teachers in pedagogical universities and the formation of an atmosphere of mutual support in the student environment. Fines of up to 100 thousand rubles may be imposed for schools refusing to engage in bullying prevention.

LAWFUL BULLYING

Every second teacher does not know how to combat cyberbullying. The share of teachers who consider bullying of schoolchildren a problem has increased from 20 to 47% in 2022, according to a November study by VK Education and Uchi.ru. The fact that the problem of bullying of children on the Internet is growing like a snowball is confirmed by a content writing service bill being prepared for consideration in the State Duma. RSpectr has studied a copy of the document (available to the editorial staff), and its co-author, MP Yana Lantratova, confirmed to RSpectr that the draft will be introduced immediately after discussion with the parent and expert community. Parliamentary hearings are scheduled for November.



- It is important for us to meet with them and come to a common denominator. The topic is very complex, there are no obvious solutions to the problem, a broad discussion is needed.

The concept of bullying, its types (including on the Internet), as well as the definition of bullying participants are planned to be introduced into the Law on Education. In addition, the law is to include the State Program for the Prevention of Bullying (SPBP) and the Unified Standard for the Prevention of Bullying (USBP). Also, amendments should be made to the Code of Administrative Offenses that will allow educational institutions to be fined if they do not take measures to prevent bullying and ignore local regulations for the prevention of bullying.

Director of the Center for Legal Assistance to Citizens in the Digital Environment of the Main Radio Frequency Center (GRFC) Lyudmila Kurovskaya explained to RSpectr that the project contains relevant innovations aimed at combating cyberbullying against children and adolescents.

Lyudmila Kurovskaya, Center for Legal Assistance to Citizens in the Digital Environment:

– At the same time, the introduction of the legal concept of “bullying”, in my opinion, requires additional consideration. In particular, this concerns references to its individual types – for example, refusal to talk, notice, interact with the victim, etc. These actions in themselves do not indicate bullying. And only in the case of a desire to cause psychological harm to the victim could we talk about it.

The authors include a number of deputies such as Sergei Mironov, Sergei Neverov, Petr Tolstoy and Nina Ostanina. In their opinion, the law will be a framework and will create a basis for the educational system in terms of bullying prevention. Also among the developers are organizations that have been dealing with the problem of bullying of children for many years. Experts are confident that legislative regulation will help change the situation.

So far, Russia has neither unified methods for preventing bullying nor effective measures to respond to the problem, including tools that would help the school get involved in solving the issue, Victoria Dergunova, partner at the law firm BGP LITIGATION, head of the family and inheritance law practice, and president of the charity fund “Lawyers Help Children,” told RSpectr.

In her opinion, the bill helps to define the conceptual framework - what bullying is, who are its subjects, and approves a step-by-step state program for its prevention, provides for systemic measures to respond to bullying, and also allows for regular assessment of the psychological situation in the educational institution.

The bill forms the basis for the further development of a state program for the prevention of bullying and a corresponding unified standard, confirmed Yana Lantratova.