According to recent research by the Psychology Department of the University of Cyprus, which was presented by Dr Costas Fantis during an evening event of the Education Ministry, in addition to all reported bullying incidents, there are more cases that are kept quiet.
According to the data presented, one in four students stated they are victims of bullying, while one in 10 stated that they were perpetrators of bullying. The data shows that girls face a greater risk of being victims (26.6% vis-à-vis 19.4 of the boys) and this is also the case in online bullying.
Due to these behaviours, one in 10 students are marginalised by their peers and this marginalisation can lead to defiant disorder, the research states.
During the same event, Education Minister Prodromos Prodromou presented the Ministry’s plans to strengthen the schools’ defence, including closer cooperation with other state services, closer internal networking at the Ministry, and establishing a system of regional advisers in schools.
