Over two hundred cases of bullying in Ukrainian schools have been recorded by the police within 10 months
Parents of affected children are primarily reporting bullying, as mentioned on the Facebook page of the Ministry of Education and Science.
At the same time, the number of bullying incidents has decreased compared to the period before the onset of full-scale war. According to the Ukrainian Institute of Extremism Research, 40 percent of child suicides occur as a result of bullying.
Furthermore, courts have started to handle such cases more effectively: since the beginning of the year, 160 decisions have been made. This accounts for 73 percent of all protocols drawn up in 2024. In comparison, over the previous three years, decisions were made in an average of 60 percent of cases.
Every second protocol for bullying is filed against teenagers aged 14 to 16 years (124 protocols this year). Decisions have already been made on 80 percent of these protocols. Such violations have significantly increased over the past two years: in 2021, protocols against teenagers constituted 45 percent of cases.
Almost one in six recorded offenses is bullying committed by a group or repeatedly. Since the beginning of the year, 37 such cases have been documented. An additional 12 protocols have been filed against educators who were aware of bullying but failed to report it.
At the end of October, a button for reporting bullying was launched in Ukraine. During this time, 85 anonymous reports have already been submitted. According to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, 80 percent of bullying reports are made by parents, while only 20 percent are made by children. This option has already been utilized in 16 regions of the country, with the majority of reports submitted in Kyiv and the Kyiv region: 36 reports.
For bullying, penalties are primarily fines ranging from 850 to 3400 UAH. Bullies face administrative responsibility starting at the age of 16. Until that age, parents are held accountable for their children's actions.
School administrators are also responsible for concealing bullying incidents. They may face fines or be assigned corrective labor, with up to 20 percent of their earnings deducted.
In October 2024, the Ministry of Education and Science launched a new tool on the AICOM website, allowing for quick reporting of bullying cases.
How to act if your child has become a victim of bullying is explained by the national information campaign of the Ministry of Education and Science and Opendatabo.