Childish trepidation: more than half of schoolchildren became victims of bullying

Almost 54% of Russian children and teenagers have been victims of bullying by their peers at least once, according to a report by the HSE Institute of Education. At the same time, only a third of those teachers who witnessed bullying. The school does not always see the problem on the scale that teenagers experience it, experts say. The number of cases of cyberbullying involving minors is also growing, with AI—generated photos and videos increasingly being used. This can lead to tragic consequences, including depression, suicidal thoughts and dangerous behavior, psychologists warn.

How many children face bullying

Every third Russian student is involved in bullying at least once a month. Such data was provided in its report by the Center for General and Additional Education of the Higher School of Economics Institute of Education (Izvestia reviewed the document). In general, 53.9% of the respondents among the students were victims of bullying. Approximately the same number (52.7%) have witnessed bullying at least once, and 43.4% have been aggressors. The study involved 6.8 thousand middle and high school students.

At the same time, schools do not always "see the problem on the scale that children experience it," the report says: of the teachers surveyed, only a third said they had ever encountered bullying among schoolchildren.

"Students are more likely to pay attention to social bullying (spreading rumors, refusing to communicate. — Ed.), while teachers observe it less often than verbal and physical ones. This may be explained by the specifics of such bullying and the complexity of its definition. For the same reason, teachers may not notice cyberbullying, the manifestations of which may often not pass into the classroom," the report says.

Through destructive behavior, the child is trying to send a signal that he is experiencing problems, Nina Ostanina, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Family Protection, Fatherhood, Motherhood and Childhood, told Izvestia.

"If you don't pay attention to this in time, the consequences can be tragic — there are cases when teenagers deal with their comrades, with teachers," she noted. — You can't put the responsibility solely on the school or the parents. There is also a public space, social networks, where a child, on the one hand, sees patterns of behavior that are broadcast, and on the other, reads something and wants to imitate someone.

How to deal with bullying

In the last few months, cases of teenagers attacking schools have become more frequent. So, in March 2026, a seventh-grader stabbed his friend in the Moscow region. According to the Izvestia source, the boys quarreled on their way to school. And in February, a teenager armed with a traumatic pistol attacked a school in Ufa. On social media, he complained about misunderstandings from teachers and classmates. In the same month, a schoolgirl from Krasnoyarsk "inflicted bodily injury with a knife" to a peer. It was clarified that she tried to attack the teacher, but her classmates prevented her.

"Criminal responsibility for serious crimes in Russia begins at the age of 14,— Nina Ostanina reminded. — Teenagers who, unfortunately, have crossed this line end up in places of detention. We do not know how they will return from there, so prevention is necessary. First, it's family education — what books the child reads, what information he consumes, and so he will be. Schools must have a psychologist to whom you can turn without hesitation. And teachers should respond appropriately to the fact that a child is experiencing difficulties.

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In addition, schoolchildren "should not have time to plot against their friends and teachers," the deputy believes. She noted that after school, teenagers should attend clubs and sports clubs, as well as participate in youth social movements.

According to Nina Ostanina, preventive measures against bullying should cover not only families and schools, but also the information space.

In 2025, the number of cases of cyberbullying involving minors increased by 14%, Elena Sutormina, First vice President of the Russian Peace Foundation and head of the Security 2.0 monitoring center, told Izvestia.

— The problem of bullying remains acute, and it takes on even more complex forms on the Internet. In total, about 10,000 high—profile episodes were included in our monitoring last year," the expert noted. — Moreover, the growth rate of the threat has accelerated: In just three months, from November 2025 to January 2026, the number of high-profile cases exceeded 1.5 thousand. AI technologies are increasingly being used, including deepfakes, generated images and videos. This makes bullying more sophisticated and its consequences more traumatic for children.

Elena Sutormina believes that Russia should adopt a separate law on cyberbullying, which would fix legal relations and responsibilities. Bullying on the Internet must be dealt with comprehensively — not only online, but also at the level of schools, families and teams.

— Prevention of cyber aggression involves dialogue with children, parents and teachers. It is also important to provide more information about emergency assistance resources and formats. Adults need to understand that bullying is not a variant of the norm, "which everyone goes through and becomes stronger," but a dangerous event that traumatizes a person and all participants in the events, the expert is convinced.

Dangerous consequences of bullying

Responsibility for harassment can be disciplinary, civil, administrative and criminal, Makka Saligova, a lawyer at the Moscow Region Bar Association, told Izvestia.

According to her, the punishment depends on the severity of the act and the age of the child: administrative, as well as criminal, responsibility begins at the age of 16, for serious crimes — from 14.

"A teenager can be brought to administrative responsibility, for example, for insulting if he publicly humiliated or called another person names," the lawyer said. — Criminal liability is threatened under articles on battery, hooliganism and defamation, including those spread via the Internet. In the case of the distribution of personal materials without the consent of a person, the article on violation of privacy applies.

If a child is beaten at school or bullied on the Internet, parents can contact the school administration, the police or the commission for the protection of minors' rights, said Yana Kovalevskaya, a mediator at the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

— It is necessary to consult a psychologist to fix the child's condition. And then — file a civil lawsuit demanding compensation for moral damage," the expert recommended.

A fine of up to 10,000 rubles is provided for public insults on the Internet, she said. Parents of school bullies can also be punished under the article "Failure to fulfill parental duties."

Bullying often disguises itself as ordinary conflicts and can occur outside the direct control of teachers or school administrators — in correspondence, at recess, outside the school, Ekaterina Elizarova, a psychologist and specialist of the Alter psychological platform, told Izvestia.

"Some teachers may underestimate the severity of verbal bullying — they avoid interventions, fearing conflict or dismissal, or rely on outdated ideas about the relationship between children, believing that they should "figure it out on their own," the expert noted. "The high burden on teachers and school psychologists also affects, due to which they cannot effectively influence bullying. In addition, teachers lack the training and tools to recognize bullying.

The consequences of school bullying, according to the psychologist, can be very serious — from anxiety and depression to suicidal thoughts.

— In extreme cases, with prolonged isolation, experiencing injustice and lack of support, a teenager may accumulate anger and a sense of hopelessness, which increases the risk of dangerous behavior, — warned Ekaterina Elizarova. — In adulthood, people who have experienced bullying at school may have difficulty starting their own business, starting a family, and fulfilling themselves in life.

Parents should be attentive to the psychological state of their children — record cases of bullying and work closely with the school, for example, ask to involve a social worker or psychologist in resolving the situation, the expert advises.