British Crime Survey finds one in five children frightened by bullies

Nine out of 10 report bullying taking place at school in the past year, with boys aged 10 to 12 the most likely victims More than 20% of children aged 10 to 15 have been frightened or upset by bullying in the past year, according to the first British Crime Survey report on their attitude to the police and personal safety. The BCS report shows that boys aged 10 to 12 are the most likely to have experienced bullying. Overall, nine out of 10 children reported some bullying incidents at school. The confirmation of the extent of bullying in England and Wales is underlined by the fact one in four victims – 6% of children aged 10 to 15 – reported unwanted and nasty emails or texts, or abusive postings on a website. Girls were more likely than boys to have been the victims of cyber-bullying. The BCS also estimates that 1% of children aged 13 to 15 had carried a knife for self-protection in the past year, with 13% saying they knew someone who had done so. But 69% of those aged 13 to 15 agreed that carrying a knife made it more likely that they would get stabbed themselves. Only 17% disagreed. The survey also shows that far from being a generation who see themselves as having been treated as criminals, more than 87% believed the police would help them if they needed them. Nearly half of all children said they knew a local police officer, but this is mainly the product of an intensive programme school visits by the police in recent years. Only 9% of those children in contact with the police because of problems such as truanting, suspensions or drunken behaviour, said they had a less favourable opinion of them. The survey also clarifies some adult assumptions about the lives of teenagers. More than 80% of 10- to 15-year-olds said they hung around with their friends in public spaces. But only one in five said they had been moved on, and that was most likely to have been by a member of the public. The report also shows that 21% of girls but only 9% of boys who used public transport in the past year had avoided travelling on buses at certain times because they were worried about their own safety or because other people were causing trouble. Bullying Children Schools Crime Alan Travis guardian.co.uk

Posted by on May 19, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.