The serious problem of school bullying in SA
ON APRIL 12, Lufuno Mavhunga, a 15-year-old learner at Mbilwi Secondary School in Limpopo, was aggressively assaulted by another learner.
The video of the humiliating, violent attack was circulated on social media platforms. Sadly, Lufuno subsequently took her own life.
During the bullying incident, bystanders watched, cheered, laughed and recorded the event. The alleged perpetrator, a 14-year-old girl, has since been charged with assault. The school will institute disciplinary action against the bystanders who failed to assist and protect Lufuno. Her family, however, believes the school did not do enough to support her after the incident was reported to the principal.
Lufuno’s situation highlights the scourge, as well as the seriousness, of the problem of bullying in South African schools. Consequences of being bullied at school include the development of psychological and emotional problems such as distress and suicidal thoughts. If not addressed timeously these problems could result in suicide. Although Lufuno’s victimisation was reported, she did not receive psychological counselling. It seems she dealt with the bullying mostly by herself.
Bullying is a form of gender violence. It is based on the asymmetrical relations of power that are prevalent in our patriarchal society. The key feature of such relations is men and boys assuming authority, domination, and control through violence against girls, women, and femininities.
However, Lufuno’s victimisation draws our attention to the complexities of bullying and gender power relations among learners at school. Although boys and men often emerge as perpetrators of violence against girls and women, bullying in schools is a complex issue and girls are not always the passive victims of male violence. Both girls and boys can become victims and bullies. Bullying is an expression of power, and girls too are capable of expressing power through forms of violence against other girls and against some boys. Indeed, a recent study on bullying among learners in a South African primary school highlights the vulnerability of younger boys to violence perpetrated by older girls at school. Therefore, we must acknowledge that Lufuno’s victimsation by another girl is not something unique. Gender relations are dynamic, and we can see that girls too have learnt how to use violence to express power and to claim dominance over other learners.
Effective prevention programmes are required to stop bullying at school. They must be designed to empower everyone at school with skills and knowledge on how to prevent bullying and how to react when bullying is witnessed or reported.
All learners must be addressed in terms of the roles they can play as active bystanders committed to ending bullying. Bystanders must be empowered so that they know what bullying constitutes and are able to see when bullying happens and know how to intervene appropriately. Bystanders must understand that posting a video or a photo on social media showing someone being abused is in itself a form of bullying.
When learners report bullying, school authorities need to take the incident seriously and act appropriately. Professional psychological counselling support must be offered to the victims without delay. However, the risk of committing suicide among victims of bullying can only be significantly reduced if proper resources and victim support services are available.
The school should also explore possibilities of developing learning programmes that will foreground bullying and raise awareness about this serious issue.
However, the school cannot be successful in its efforts towards ending bullying if it acts alone. The violent behaviour that learners demonstrate at school reflects, to a large extent, the normalised violence within households and communities. The school, therefore, must form strong partnerships with parents, communities, government, religious institutions and other relevant stakeholders.