Up to 1,200 serious cases of bullying in the first count by the Prosecutor's Office

BarcelonaThe first-ever count by the Prosecutor's Office on school bullying has clearly shown that last year there were 1,196 serious cases of bullying in the State. At least these are the cases that reached the public prosecutor's office. It's not yet possible to compare the statistical evolution this data represents because it's the only annual report so far, but these cases don't include all those that never reach the courts. The difficulties and reluctance to report behaviors that affect minors—and which very often involve other minors under 14 years old, who therefore cannot be prosecuted—mean that many cases simply end with a change of school. Recently, cases of teenage suicides have come to light in different parts of the State, where those around them have pointed to bullying as the trigger. This is the case of Sandra Peña, a 9th-grade girl from Seville who took her own life last October, and of two young women from Jaén who committed suicide together in a park. In Catalonia, police are investigating the death of a 15-year-old boy in Lleida, and two years ago, 12-year-old twins attempted suicide in Sallent. The boy died, and the girl was seriously injured. In all these cases, those close to the victims mention bullying as a trigger, but the difficulty in clarifying the motive behind a suicide—which is always multifactorial—makes it difficult to predict or know the full extent of the consequences of bullying, whether in the classroom or on social media. In fact, according to a 2023 Save the Children study, 42% of young Catalans—the equivalent of 10 students in a class of 25—have suffered cyberbullying during childhood. Currently, school bullying is not specifically defined as a crime in the Penal Code, despite... the repeated requests that have been made for it to be classified as a crimeThe majority of convictions for serious cases of bullying These actions are carried out under the protection of Article 173 of this law, which punishes degrading treatment and is part of the chapter dedicated to torture and crimes against moral integrity. "Although there is no specific crime, it can still be punished, but we consider this insufficient," says lawyer Noelia Rebón, who specializes in bullying and children's rights. In their opinion, the ideal solution would be to specify school bullying within the same law in order to penalize serious cases, as has already been done with workplace or housing harassment, which have a specific mention within the same crime of degrading treatment.

The Catalan Association for the Prevention of School Bullying (ACPAE) has also requested that the bullying be classified as a crime. "It would allow for a legitimate lawsuit. Right now, there's absolute impunity," says the organization's president, Meritxell Plana. In her opinion, more specific legislation would also clarify the criminal consequences of bullying: "It would make the aggressor more aware of what they're doing and what they're exposing themselves to," she says.

Rebón appreciates that, for the first time, official statistics from the Prosecutor's Office are giving visibility to cases of school bullying, but warns: "This number doesn't represent all the cases that exist; there are more. In many cases, minors are not criminally responsible, and those cases don't reach the Prosecutor's Office." On the one hand, it should be noted that the cases that go to court are the most serious. Furthermore, even in serious cases, if the offender is under 14 years old, as Rebón points out, criminal proceedings cannot be initiated against them.

Precedents of conviction in schools

In these cases, the possibility of civil action remains open, which can take the form of a lawsuit against the school or a claim for damages when it is a public institution. According to Rebon, "there are already a large number of rulings that are very clear" that the school may have to assume responsibility for bullying among students. "If it has been demonstrated that there were prior complaints, that there was a situation in which everything pointed to the need for action and the protocol was not applied, or even if it was applied but there was a significant delay, there are already rulings that condemn the schools," she explains. A situation that, she says, has changed a lot in the last two decades: "There is increasing awareness in society. Ultimately, we have rules that must be applied, and if they are not applied, it generates liability." However, the lawyer adds that "most cases" do not end up in court. Either families choose to change their child's school directly, or the actions taken don't go beyond internal complaints within the school. "I find it very unfair, but it's the victim who ends up leaving, changing schools, and precisely because we are fulfilling our child protection obligations, because it's clear the school has done little or nothing. Ultimately, it has been insufficient to guarantee the protection of the affected child," she criticizes.

Cyberbullying

Furthermore, having published its first tally of school bullying cases, the State Attorney General's Office, in its 2024 report, highlights the "particular impact" of the digital environment. It also emphasizes the close relationship with the mental health of minors, "either as a cause or consequence" of the aggression.

In this regard, Rebón refers to "passive school bullying," which does not necessarily involve physical aggression or insults, and which occurs primarily among girls: "It leaves [the victim] completely isolated and alone for a very long time." For example, they ostracize him, exclude him, and clearly tell him they don't want to be his friend... "We've encountered excuses as absurd as 'you can't force anyone to be friends with someone.' And yes, that's true, but when someone is excluded, ignored, and no one talks to them, the school must act because that's also bullying," says Rebón. In one of the cases Rebón recalls, the victim had been excluded from all the group chats shared by classmates. An action that, on its own, wouldn't warrant a conviction, the lawyer clarifies, but it would when combined with other acts of harassment. In any case, these actions are much more difficult to prove in legal proceedings than assault or insults, which are sometimes even made in writing. However, Rebón appreciates that the victim's testimony is being given increasing weight. Gathering evidence

Given the difficulties in proving certain types of bullying, the lawyer always recommends that affected families document everything in writing. "Even keeping a diary." From the moment something "exceeds the bounds of normality," she says it's advisable to write everything down: "It's one thing to have an argument or a fight with a classmate, it's another thing entirely when you see this happening repeatedly." The lawyer also recommends always filing a written complaint if it's necessary to contact the school, and going "directly to the primary care center" if there is any physical injury.

The president of ACPAE explains that the organization's advice to families is very similar to that offered by the lawyer. "Keep a notebook, write down every time, with the date and time, that your child has verbalized what's happening, and try not to communicate with the school except by email. If a meeting is held with the school, request that minutes be taken," she states. She also adds that when a family asks them for legal advice, they ask for details such as what kind of insults the child is receiving. Today, she says, the evidence often boils down to "one word against another," and "the only thing families can do is sue the school." She also laments that to initiate legal proceedings, families have to "pay lawyers out of their own pockets."

Last year, the Department of Education made the use of the Register of Violence Against Students (REVA) mandatory. This shared register requires all schools to report cases of bullying and other forms of violence they detect among students. In the first nine months of this tool's mandatory operation... 1,333 cases of some form of bullying were recorded in Catalan classroomswhere there are more than 1,600,000 students. This increase not only implies a rise in violence in schools, which may be the case, but also a greater awareness of this scourge.

In fact, The Catalan education network has nine protocols These coexistence protocols include guidelines for preventing, detecting, and responding to cases of harassment or discrimination. Among these protocols are general guidelines for addressing peer harassment, as well as specific documents on bullying of LGBTI individuals, a specific protocol on how to support transgender students, and guidelines on how to intervene in cases of gender-based violence among students.