The schools, reluctant to admit cases of bullying
The bullying It is defined as intimidation and mistreatment among schoolchildren repeatedly and maintained over time, almost always far from the eyes of adults, with the intention of humiliating and subjecting a defenseless person. Against these behaviors, from serious consequences for those who suffer, There are several protocols for action, although sometimesSchools are reluctant to admit that at their center there are cases of bullying.
This is what the General State Prosecutor's Office has warned this week to ensure that in Spain there are schools that, even counting with protocols against school violence, They are "reluctant" to put them in motion so as not to admit that there are cases of harassment within the center.
Among the findings on school violence in the 2014 report of the prosecutors also highlights that there are few developments with regard to this criminal variant that, in general, is under the age of 14. As they say, "usually" the assumptions are of a "mild" nature and are resolved without the need to reach the courts.
Prevention of bullying at school
For the State Attorney General, Consuelo Madrigal, "The detection and prevention work by schools continues to be fundamental, especially when it continues to be evident that most of the cases are carried out by minors who have not reached the age of fourteen. "
In this sense, the prosecutor's report states that of all the cases recorded during the past year 2014, the most serious occurred in 2013: when a minor of 14 years committed suicide after suffering, allegedly, school bullying with her schoolmates in Gijón As explained, the case was provisionally shelved as there were no indications of a crime of inducing suicide, but it was reopened in 2014 and finally two minors were sentenced for a crime against moral integrity.
Private videos on the network
On the other hand, the Office of the Public Prosecutor warns of the use that young people 'smartphones' and other new technologies that are so affordable nowadays. In his memory it is pointed out that every time It is more common that children under the age of 14 use mobile phones and apps such as WhatsApp for humiliating behavior, threats or to disseminate photos and videos of sexual content that, what is even more worrisome, on many occasions have been "voluntarily facilitated by the victim to another child of his environment."
On this, he talks about specific behaviors such as 'sexting' and other criminal modalities that are carried out through mobile phones and technological devices. In the Conference of Minors Delegate Prosecutors of October 2014, conclusions were drawn up with the intention of unify action guidelines in this regard, including, for example, the dissemination of information on this subject in schools.
Violence at home
The Prosecutor's report on violence against children also speaks of cases of intrafamily violence led by minors against their parents and siblings. According to his data, "unfortunately" the figures remain stable, which means that there are no more cases, but They are not descending either. Specifically, in 2014, 4,753 procedures were opened for these reasons, figures very similar to those of 2013 and 2012: 4,659 and 4,936, respectively.
For prosecutors, this criminal modality is a "social scourge", and regret that the "efforts and measures" that are applied every day from the juvenile courts to correct it seem "insufficient". Therefore, they believe that it is a problem whose roots are "in a deep crisis of educational values", why they insist on prevention and education as weapons to fight against this kind of violence.
Angela R. Bonachera
