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- I went berserk from bullying: what does the school's inattention to bullying lead to?
I went berserk from bullying: what does the school's inattention to bullying lead to?
There is a high—profile case at school No. 78 in Krasnoyarsk: the father of one of the students was detained under an article on hooliganism after he beat two schoolchildren with a chair. The reason for the man's rage is the long—term harassment of his son. The last straw was a video where one student holds his child, and the other beats him. The man admits his guilt, explains that he was not in control of himself. However, he stresses that his son has been bullied for years, but nothing has been done at school. The Interior Ministry also confirms the fact of child abuse earlier. How to stop long—term bullying and why schools don't do it - in the Izvestia article.
What was the Krasnoyarsk resident detained for?
The 46-year-old man's arrest was announced on Saturday by the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee for the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Republic of Khakassia. A resident of Krasnoyarsk is suspected of committing hooligan acts against two schoolchildren using an object used as a weapon (Part 2 of Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Under this article, a man can get off with a fine and receive imprisonment for up to seven years.
He was detained for the incident that occurred on March 19. Then a conflict broke out between three 5th grade students of school No. 78 in Krasnoyarsk, which escalated into a fight. The parents of the minors were called to school.
"While in the office of a social teacher, the father of one of the boys grabbed a chair and struck two of his son's classmates with it, causing injuries to the head and face. The man's illegal actions were stopped by security guards, teachers and the parents present. The children were provided with the necessary medical care," the SU IC said in a statement.
The man managed to leave for work in Angarsk, but was detained and taken to Krasnoyarsk.
What is the reason for the attack on children?
The man who hit the children with a chair admitted his guilt. He told the media that after he was shown a video of his child being beaten, he "felt a veil before his eyes." He does not justify his actions and is ready to be punished, but he notices that the bullying of his child has been going on for a very long time — since the second grade. At the same time, parents were not told about this at school. After the boy was "beaten by four people" in 2023, the parents wrote a statement to the police. It didn't lead to anything, the bullying continued.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Krasnoyarsk Territory confirmed to Izvestia that in 2023 the family filed a police report.
"In December 2023, the boy's father actually contacted the police with a statement that teenagers had inflicted bodily injuries on his son," the press service of the Interior Ministry said. — Then the inspectors for juvenile affairs conducted an inspection, the boy's injuries were recorded and the opponent of the injured child, a teenager born in 2013, was identified. However, the boy had not reached the age of responsibility, so it was decided not to institute an administrative offense.
Inspectors for juvenile affairs conducted preventive conversations with the parents of the aggressor boy at that time.
"Based on the materials that we already have, we can make an unequivocal conclusion — the school did not respond to the parents' appeals in any way," Pavel Pugachev, director of the Krasnoyarsk Interregional Center for Children, told Izvestia. — Not a single appeal from the boy's parents was considered. Now we will clarify the situation for each episode.
At school No. 78, they did not answer Izvestia's questions, asking them to contact the Interior Ministry for all comments on the case.
Who should stop bullying at school
Pavel Pugachev is sure that the main responsibility for the prevention of bullying in schools lies with the administration of the educational institution and teachers.
— Any harassment always begins with the tacit consent of the teachers. The school has all the necessary tools in order not only to stop, but also to prevent harassment," the Izvestia interlocutor is convinced. — Another question is that it is easier for the school administration to close its eyes, sweep it under the carpet, prevent a scandal, and pretend that nothing is happening.
Vladimir Pimonov, Associate Professor of the Department of Legal Psychology and Law at the Faculty of Legal Psychology of the Moscow State University of Law and Law, also emphasizes that the situation in Krasnoyarsk could not have been brought to what happened. According to him, reconciliation services work in schools, but they do not always work effectively.
The expert of the direction "Popular Front. Analyst" Valentin Eliseenko, on the contrary, believes that the school has almost no tools to influence students and this only contributes to the aggressive behavior of parents. According to him, the interests of the majority of conscientious students are often sacrificed in order to keep children with aggressive behavior in school, but the harm they cause is "ignored by no one."
According to preliminary data from the comprehensive monitoring of the Popular Front in the field of general education, which has been ongoing since February 2025, 23% of the 4,000 principals who participated in the survey faced a situation of harassment in their educational organization. Of the 53.5 thousand teachers, 32% saw bullying against schoolchildren, and of the 161.8 thousand parents of students, 25% reported bullying against their children. By the way, a VTsIOM study last year showed that 53% of young people between the ages of 18 and 24 have been bullied at school.
Dmitry Kazakov, chairman of the Teacher trade union and a school teacher from the Nizhny Novgorod region, also agrees that responsibility for bullying should not be removed from schools.
"Schools should have good psychologists, and there should be enough of them to resolve such situations — one conversation is usually not enough," he told Izvestia. — But the rates of psychologists are often reduced, they are recruited on a residual basis, and usually these are some kind of part-timers or one person for the entire large school.
Dmitry Kazakov adds that classroom teachers should also be involved in the educational process, but they simply don't have time — teachers are overloaded. To reduce conflicts, the whole system must work well, he says.
Tatiana Ovtsynova, Senior associate and lawyer at the Monastyrsky, Zyuba, Stepanov and Partners Bar Association in Moscow, emphasizes that none of the legislative acts provides for a mandatory school response to bullying in children's groups, but according to the Federal Law "On Education," schools "must create the necessary conditions to protect and promote the health of students."
"Based on this, prevention, prevention and resolution of conflict situations are entirely at the mercy of educational institutions," she told Izvestia. — Somewhere the issue is approached carefully, but often even in the local documentation there are no special provisions.
Anna Makarchuk, director of the Jewish Museum's Tolerance Center and an expert of the anti—bullying federal project "Everyone is Important", emphasizes that responsibility in this situation is not shared - it is always one hundred percent for both parents and schools.
— Everyone who has found out about this problem should stop bullying. But, alas, this doesn't happen in real life," she told Izvestia.
Teachers often simply do not have the competence to recognize bullying and work with aggressors: most pedagogical universities do not teach how to work with bullying. And school administrations, fearing reputational losses, prefer to hush up conflicts, the expert says.
How to solve the problem of bullying in schools
Anna Makarchuk emphasizes that clearer legislation is needed to change the situation, and work is currently underway to adopt a new anti-bullying law.
— It is also necessary to introduce systemic anti—bullying programs in schools everywhere, - says Anna Makarchuk. — It is absolutely necessary to train teachers to work with bullying, and roadmaps for interdepartmental cooperation in the situation of school bullying should be prescribed and brought to the attention of all participants in the educational process.
Vladimir Pimonov notes that schools can receive consulting support in organizing anti-bullying activities at universities. In particular, a corresponding program has been developed at MGPPU: this is the so-called prevention navigator.
On Monday, March 24, Larisa Falkovskaya, director of the Department of State Policy for the Protection of Children's Rights at the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, said that information materials for students, parents and teachers on combating bullying would be sent to the regions in the near future.
What to do if the school does not respond
Vladimir Pimonov emphasizes that parents should not let things take their course if a child gets into a bullying situation. You should contact the homeroom teacher, the school principal, to organize work with teenagers, and, if necessary, to the educational authorities.
— Other alternative ways of settlement may be contacting the police, the prosecutor's office, the guardianship and guardianship authorities, the Commission on Juvenile Affairs, and the Commissioner for Children's Rights in a particular region, — said Tatiana Ovtsynova. — You can also apply to the court with a statement of claim against an educational institution that is responsible for the life and health of students, demanding compensation for damage or moral damage.
Anna Makarchuk emphasizes that in a situation where the school does not make any efforts to protect against bullying, parents need to focus on the child's condition and on preventing a repeat of bullying. A student should know that his parents are always on his side. We need to discuss ways to solve the problem with him, help him find a new social circle. And it is also recommended to consult a child psychologist.
At the same time, it is important, firstly, to record all cases of harassment: to save correspondence, videos, witness statements, medical certificates, etc. Secondly, contact the administration in writing and, if there is no reaction, write to higher authorities.
And you should think about moving to another school: perhaps it would be in the best interests of the child to leave this toxic environment and find himself in a healthy and safe environment.
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