Chinese school bullies being warned

A new set of guidelines on how to cope with school bullying have been released, reports thepaper.cn.

Under the new regulations, put together through various Chinese government departments, including the Ministry of Education, minor bullying is to be dealt with by the school itself. However, for more severe or repeat cases, schools are being given the option to either involve the police, or in certain cases, transfer the student to a reform school or special education facility.

A caricature highlighting new guidelines surrounding school bullying, which have been collectively published by eleven government departments, including the Ministry of Education on December 27, 2017 [File photo: VCG]

The new guidelines also lay out a specific definition of bullying, which says that it involves the use of force, threats or coercion to abuse, intimidate, or aggressively dominate others. Behavior used to assert such domination can include verbal harassment or threats, physical assaults or coercion, as well as cyber bullying.

The new regulations also require that principals, teachers and administrative staff be held accountable if bullying behavior goes unchecked.

Three girls were sentenced to jail by a court in Beijing for physically assaulting a 15-year-old girl in November, 2016. [File photo: The Supreme People's Court]

School bullying in China has become a growing concern in recent years. In April 2016, a video went viral showing a girl being slapped more than 30 times by a group of older girls. Police later detained some of those involved in that incident.

In June 2014, another online video showed several teenagers in Zhejiang Province burning a first-grader with cigarettes.