Too many adults are failing to recognise the consequence of bullying because they "don't take it seriously" and still see it as "part of growing up", a charity chief has warned.
Emma-Jane Cross, CEO and founder of Beat Bullying said:
More than half of children who are the victims of bullying developed depression as a result of the abuse, according to a survey.
Beat Bullying quizzed 2,000 parents and adults across Europe and found a further 35% of victims began harming themselves and 38% contemplated suicide.
However, the same poll exposed a large minority of adults who consider bullying just part of growing up.
Some 34% thought school yard abuse was inevitable and 16% regarded it as character building.
Adults in charge need to "move away" from the belief bullying is "an inevitable part of growing up" because the long-term repercussions are so severe, according to the authors of a report into the psychological affects of school yard abuse.
Senior author Professor Louise Arseneault, also from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College, said:
Some children who are bullied at school still feel the effects nearly 40 years after the initial abuse, a study has found.
People who suffered bullying as seven and 11-year-olds were disadvantaged physically, psychologically and mentally at age 50, researchers at Kings College London found.
Adults who were victims of childhood bullying are at greater risk of depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.
They also had greater difficulty maintaining relationship and had poor academic results.
They also earned less, were more likely to be unemployed, and were in poorer health than those who escaped bullying.
An ex-private says he attempted suicide several times after his complains about being bullied were ignored by the army.
Joseph McCabe is taking civil legal action against the Ministry of Defence for its alleged failure to act, the BBC reported, as well as appealing against a decision to deny him financial compensation. He said:
He said that he received death threats and was stabbed in the leg at the height of constant abuse centred on his stutter but that officers laughed off the threats and no-one was punished. The Ministry of Defence responded:
The children's support service Childline has reported a surge in the number of children contacting them about online bullying.
More than 1,400 young people said they were experiencing racist bullying, up 69% on the previous year.
The charity's founder Esther Rantzen said these findings are a wake up call.
A common theme was for young people to be called a "terrorist" or a "bomber" and to be told to "go back to where they came from," Ms Rantzen said.
The 24-hour phone and online support service also reported number of contacts from suicidal young people increased by a third in a year.
Education Secretary Michael Gove has condemned the use of the word 'gay' as an insult in schools.
Speaking at a education conference run by gay rights group Stonewall, Mr Gove said he thought that “language in playgrounds that wasn’t effectively policed.”
“It’s utterly outrageous and medieval to think that to use the word gay as an insult is somehow acceptable,” he said.
Conference attendees said the politician was challenged by singer Will Young over the handling of homophobic bullying in schools:
One in five NHS workers said they have been bullied by colleagues and almost half reported they have witnessed bullying in the last six months, according to a new survey.
Managers were the worst offenders, with increasing workloads and the workplace culture contributory factors, the study published in the online journal BMJ Open said. The study found:
- Almost 20% of respondents had been bullied by colleagues within the past six months, ranging from rarely to daily
- 43% had witnessed other staff being bullied occasionally in the past six months, with 5% witnessing it weekly or daily
- Only 2.7%-14% of staff reported bullying to someone in authority
Almost 3,000 NHS staff who work in a range of roles at seven trusts across the North East of England answered a questionnaire for the study by Professor Jan Illing of Durham University.