Introduction

School bullying is defined as in-person and online behaviour between  students within a social network that causes physical, emotional or social harm to targeted  students. It is characterized by an imbalance of power that is enabled or inhibited by the  social and institutional norms and context of schools and the education system. School  bullying implies an absence of effective responses and care towards the target by peers and  adults (Cornu et al, 2022). 

There are different ways of bullying. 

It may be physical, when it is carried out through physical aggression and abuse (hitting, kicking, shoving, hitting, pinching or assaulting with objects). But it may also refer to violence against things or property, through, for instance, taking objects, damaging them, or extorting money from the target. This is generally the easiest form to detect. 

However, it can also manifest itself in a verbal form, through insults, teasing, verbal aggression. It means mocking, repeatedly taunting the target, apostrophising them with humiliating nicknames, making comments about the way they dress or speak, making racial or sexist remarks. This form of violence repeated over time leads to a progressive and deleterious inner attrition in the target. But there is also indirect or psychological violence, which is mainly carried out through the spreading of slander, intentional exclusion, the spreading of annoying gossip or through threats, humiliation and mockery. Conversely, it is defined as relational when it involves isolating the target. Ignoring someone also falls under this form of bullying. This one in particular refers to a form of 'aggression' that manifests itself mainly in the form of 'sneaky gossip' and affects the female sex more than the male. 

The cyberbully can inflict immediate and long-term violence or psychological harm on his target in various ways: 

• Cyberbashing

• Harassment or Put Down

• Denigration

• Cyberstalking

• Flaming

• Impersonation

• Exclusion

• Outing or Trickery

• Exposure

• Sexting

• Sextortion

Peer violence (use of physical force/aggression or power against others with the aim of harming someone) is any action that causes physical, mental or emotional pain to a child. It is a repeated and intentional behavior of an individual or group directed towards another individual or group, whereby this relationship is characterized by an imbalance of power (the opposition of a stronger individual or group to the detriment of a weaker person or group). Physical and psychological abuse among young people mostly happens at school, although violence can happen anywhere and anytime, live or online.

A child perpetrator does not necessarily have to be involved in an act of violence, he can be the organizer of a group, i.e. encourage and persuade others to behave violently towards someone. Children who behave violently always manage to find a way of intimidation and teasing that will upset the victim the most: teasing because of weight, appearance, hair color, learning difficulties, popularity, religion, position in society, jealousy of the victim...

Child abuse is a very serious problem that causes numerous, severe and long-term consequences for their development. Exposure of a child to physical, emotional or sexual abuse is a traumatic experience that leaves deep scars.

Abuse and neglect of children is not only a problem of an individual or his family, but a problem of the wider local community and society as a whole, and November 19, when the World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse is celebrated, reminds us that it is the task of all of us, every day, to make an effort to provided children with a safe place to grow up.

There is no single criterion for classifying types of violence, but several of them. Most often, they are based on two factors: the way in which violence is carried out and the subject or subjects who use it. Those two factors are what structure the classification of types of violence.

Peer violence on the Internet and in real life are often interconnected, so it is possible that the violence that takes place on the Internet also happens in school.

But what types of school bullying behavior are there? According to the National Center Against Violence (NCAB), violence can be classified as follows according to different criteria:

Verbal violence

Verbal violence is characterized by the fact that the abuser expresses cruel words, insults, threats, intimidation, jokes and statements about the victim's appearance, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race or disability. Children are extremely sensitive to this type of comment.

Example:

When a child says to another child: "You are very fat and so is your mother".

Physical abuse

Physical abuse is a type of abuse in which there is physical violence. Therefore, this abuse usually results in physical injury.

Physical bullying is characterized by aggressive and intimidating behavior by the bully, which includes hitting, tripping or pushing the victim, blocking the passage where the victim should go, and the like. It is the most famous form of violent behavior, and the goal of the abuser is to cause someone's pain and suffering.

Unfortunately, many children do not tell their parents what happened. But parents can find out if their child is suffering from physical violence at school, because this type of peer violence usually leaves marks on the victim's body, which sends an alarm signal. Some of these body marks are: scratches, wounds, cuts, bruises, torn clothes. In addition, the victim often complains of headaches or abdominal pain.

Social or relational abuse

This type of bullying behavior is more difficult to detect and usually occurs behind the victim's back. The goal is usually to keep the person from joining or not being a part of a particular group they've stayed in. Whether in the dining hall, at recreational soccer games, or any social or educational activity, the victim is rejected by his peers.

It is common for the victim to exhibit mood swings, avoid peer groups, and be alone more than normal. Girls suffer this type of violence more often. The emotional pain caused by social bullying can be just as intense as that suffered by physical bullying, and the consequences can last even longer.

Internet/cyber/virtual bullying

The Internet is a worldwide communication network. This means that everything happens on the Internet through mutual communication. Malicious users can use the Internet as a platform for malicious activities that young people most often use on social networks in the form of cyberbullying . The modern form of bullying is internet bullying.

This type of abuse is more common among children. It takes place through the digital world and on social networks. It can also take place on online gaming sites.

Internet violence is a phenomenon that arose due to the rise of social networks.

It is characterized by harassment or intimidation emanating from social media, text messages, and email messages.

What does electronic violence include?

Sending anonymous messages of hate, inciting group hatred, spreading violent and offensive comments about a peer, creating internet pages (blogs) that contain stories, drawings, pictures and jokes about peers, sending other people's photos and asking others to evaluate them according to certain characteristics, revealing personal information about others, "hacking" into other people's e-mail addresses and/or their profiles on social networks, sending malicious and unpleasant content to others, death threats, exposure of age to inappropriate content, sexual enticement...