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15TH - 21ST JUNE 2021 - EDITION 894
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Your Essential Weekly Read
Online bullying increased by 39% in Alicante province School closures during pandemic did not reduce cyber bullying The closures of schools and segregation of students did not reduce
cases of cyber bullying in the Valencian Community, a new report has revealed. Despite less contact between students over the last two academic years,
reports of cyber bullying have actually increased with half of all registered cases of cyber bullying in the Valencian Community taking place in the Alicante province. Over the last year, bullying over the internet has increased by significantly in schools (both primary and secondary) in the Alicante province. As part of the Valencian Community’s ‘Previ’ prevention programme which aims to tackle bullying and violence in schools, a log of incidents in the Valencian Community during the 2019-20 academic year shows that almost half of reported cases of online bullying took place in the Alicante province. This was during a time when students were not physically at school from March until June due to the pandemic.
According to figures provided by the Minsitry of Education, over the last two years, cyber bullying has increased by up to 33% in schools in the Valencian Community and by up to 39% in schools in the Alicante province specifically. Face to face bullying is down 25% generally and 27% in the Alicante province specifically. Research carried out during lockdown indicates that of course, a decrease in face to face bullying is due to the closure of schools but a lot of what went on in the school yard was pushed towards cyberspace and a marked increase in online bullying has been noted.
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Raquel Pastor is a trainer and certifier of the KiVa method against bullying which was developed in Finland and is now being rolled out in some schools in the Alicante province. Pastor explained that the bases for online bullying are the same as ‘traditional’ bullying – a lack of empathy and a desire for power and status within the peer group. She said, “More respectful communication is needed, the rules are the same in the real and virtual world. The students are online, they have a lot of contact and it is important that parents know what their children are doing online, if they are in contact and with whom, just as if they do it in person.” Valencian Minister for Education, Vicent Marzà, said that his department has "increased by more than 33% the staff of the specialized Attention and Intervention Units" in each territory. For example, Alicante has one inspector and three counsellors. He also revealed that each school has a coordinator for equality and coexistence "with specific training", and that "more than 800 teachers have taken courses on the prevention of bullying and cyberbullying at school" during the last two academic years.