Student Violence on the Rise Since Pandemic: School Sexual Assaults and Cyberbullying at Record Level
The number of elementary, middle, and high school students reporting being bullied at school has increased for the fourth consecutive year, pushing the rate to 2% for the first time in 11 years. According to the Ministry of Education’s report, 1 in 50 children experienced school violence, with verbal and cyberbullying becoming more prevalent than physical violence. There was also an increase in deepfake-related cyberbullying cases. In 2024, the national survey showed a school bullying rate of 2.1%.
Bullying rates were recorded at 4.2% in elementary schools, 1.6% in middle schools, and 0.5% in high schools. Verbal violence accounted for 39.4% of all bullying cases, while cyberbullying ranked third at 7.4%. Cyberbullying was especially prevalent among high school students, with a rate of 10.4%, and “cyber verbal abuse” was the most common type of cyberbullying.
The Ministry noted that increasing sensitivity to issues like sexual jokes, which were previously overlooked, contributed to the rise in reports of verbal and sexual violence. However, actual school violence reports also increased, reaching 61,445 cases in 2023, a 6% rise from the previous year.
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