The PSP is today launching the “Bullying is for the weak” operation in the school community across the country, also promoting a campaign on social media to increase awareness of this phenomenon and encourage its rejection.
In a statement, the PSP explains that, in the 2023/24 school year, of the more than 2900 criminal occurrences recorded by the Safe School Program (EPES) teams, 134 are related to situations of bullying and 30 with cases of cyberbullying.
This year's operation runs until October 25th and covers educational establishments from the 1st to the 3rd cycles, as well as secondary education, involving children and young people aged six to 18.
In addition to awareness-raising activities within the school community – aimed at students, parents/guardians, teachers and assistants – there will be a campaign on social media sharing content on how to identify the phenomenon and help victims of this type of crime.
Sunday marks World Anti-Bullying Day, but the PSP stresses that the fight against this phenomenon “is not limited to an isolated date or a restricted group of people”, as it must be “daily and constant” and the responsibility lies with the entire community.
O bullying is an Anglicism used to describe intentional and repeated acts of physical or psychological violence, carried out by one or more people in the context of an unequal power relationship, causing pain and anguish to the victim(s).
“Many children and young people have to deal with this problem on a daily basis, which can negatively interfere with their physical, emotional and psychological growth and have a major impact,” explains the Public Security Police.
In an increasingly digital world, associated with the growing use of new technologies at an earlier stage in the lives of children and young people, bullying has taken on new contours, particularly in the field of social networks, with the phenomenon now being called cyberbullying.
This type of victimization may occur for a long time before it is noticed and/or reported, as it is likely to occur in a hidden manner or be undervalued, contributing significantly to the degradation of the feeling of security, especially within the school community.
In addition to increasing knowledge about these phenomena, the PSP operation aims to increase feelings of intolerance and rejection towards bullying practices and foster confidence in the authorities' ability to intervene and deal effectively with this problem.
It also aims to capture the attention of parents, educators and other witnesses, increasing confidence in reporting to Escola Segura police officers to help resolve the problem.
In the last academic year alone, more than 6.600 actions were carried out (+6,8% compared to the previous year 2022/2023), covering a total of 132.307 students.
In the note released today, the PSP calls for reports of these situations, which can be made at any police station or via email at [email protected].
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