We need to help victims of bullying — and the bullies
Lufuno Mavhungu’s last, lonely moments have filled SA with pain. That a child on the cusp of adulthood could feel such despair that she would take her own life breaks our hearts. Our children are precious and need protection, love and guidance. Lufuno, a grade 10 pupil at Mbilwi Secondary School in Sibasa, Limpopo, apparently committed suicide after being repeatedly assaulted by a fellow pupil, who was egged on by others. The assault was filmed, which could only have added to her humiliation and hurt. The problem of bullying, while manifesting all too often in our schooling system, is but one of the symptoms of our social crisis of mental illness. SA is a nation that has been traumatised by crime, unemployment, apartheid’s dark legacy, the shadow of Aids and the stresses of living through the Covid pandemic. Little wonder that, according to the South African College of Applied Psychology, as many as one in six of us suffer from anxiety, depression or substance abuse. Yet, as a country we have been slow to implement the necessary response mechanisms to address the problem. Instead, mental illness continues to be stigmatised, meaning that many people needing help have precious few places to seek it.
We need a more focused intervention in the schooling system in particular, where children spend most of their time. The government, through the department of basic education, needs to have anti-bullying policies that are enforced. Mechanisms also need to be found to address the root causes of bullying in schools. For their part, schools need to actively teach children how to access support when they are bullied. Because we recognise that schools that cannot afford flushing toilets, proper classrooms, sports fields or laboratories will be unlikely to afford counsellors, we urge the government to redouble its efforts to make such a service available to all children.
Mental health must be taken seriously and children taught how to deal with feelings of anger, helplessness and frustration. As parents, we can model the behaviour we wish to see in our children — listen to them with empathy and provide the necessary support.
Lufuno was supposed to grow up to be a valued member of society. Instead, her family is burying her. What a cruel and unnecessary waste.