Should bullying incidents at school be treated as criminal cases, and if so, at what point does bullying become criminal behavior?

Have Your Say Aug. 20, 2012 - 05:00AM JST ( 13 )

Order by Time Order by Popularity

13 Comments

6

ProbieAug. 20, 2012 - 08:15AM JST

If it was being done by and or to, an adult, it would be treated as a crime.

Why children should get away with it, is a mystery.
2

jojo_in_japanAug. 20, 2012 - 12:21PM JST

You should NEVER fear going to school. It's your right to get an education.
0

VirtuosoAug. 20, 2012 - 12:59PM JST

The reason this situation continues is the complete lack of disincentives. The primary crimes should be negligence, charged to the schools' teachers and administrators, who are responsible for the safety of their wards. That they tolerate it -- let alone participate covertly -- is outrageous. Parents of juvenile offenders should also be liable to heavy fines and civil suits by the victims. Schools where bullying occurs repeatedly should be shut down by the Ministry of Education. And while they're at it, shut down the Education Ministry too --- it's clearly failing in its erstwhile role of teaching children to be upstanding citizens instead of little gangsters.
0

LowlyAug. 20, 2012 - 01:27PM JST

I guess physical assault and extortion should be crimes w/police involvement.

Real bullying is more a mental thing tho, where the weak child feels unloved, ignored, used, humiliated, etc.

The best way to stop that is punching your bully in the face, schools stopping it by suspending and expelling bullies, parents who listen to their kids and work to protect them, get them out of the bullying situation.
-3

iceshoecreamAug. 20, 2012 - 02:01PM JST

Schools where bullying occurs repeatedly should be shut down by the Ministry of Education. And while they're at it, shut down the Education Ministry too.

So you are proposing they should deny education to the rest of the kids, educators and parents not involved?

At what what point should it be treated as a criminal behavior is difficult to tell. But a braking someone's back bone or ribs is totally assault, not just bullying, and a criminal behavior.
0

MariaAug. 20, 2012 - 02:54PM JST

Bullying becomes criminal behaviour - or at least behaviour that should be investigated as such - when someone is physically attacked,or threatened with physical violence. Extortion, coercion, and theft are also criminal acts, so if someone has been forced into giving money or items of value to her/his attackers, that should be looked into.
-4

ben4shortAug. 20, 2012 - 08:25PM JST

Bullying is:

a) not new

b) universal

c) part of Japanese society in general and not restricted to schools.

As such, criminalizing it is silly and meaningless. The point must be to teach the bullied how to deal with it instead.

In grammar school I was bullied. Came home crying one day with a fat lip. Pops threw me out, locked the door, and forced me to face my tormentors. Returned with a black eye for my efforts, but those two bullies left me alone after that. A few years later I did my fair share of bullying . . . until someone popped me good.

It will never end . . . part of the growing up process, across the world.Like so many other screwed-up aspects of life in Japan, bullying escalates into a serious problem only because people allow it to. If kids are taught (by parents, siblings, teachers, etc) how to nip the problem in the bud, not only will there be less bullying in school (with sometimes horrible consequences), but it will also decrease in universities, companies and across the board.
-2

tokyokawasakiAug. 21, 2012 - 10:30AM JST

No, but getting tougher would help. Expel those known or caught bullying.

At present their is no real deterrent... Name and shame the schools, bullies and their parents.. That might just help..
0

KabukiloverAug. 21, 2012 - 12:42PM JST

Absolutely. They are criminal cases in the adult world. The same coniditions should be extended to children.
0

HikozaemonAug. 21, 2012 - 04:09PM JST

Yes - kids putting out cigarettes on other kids, and physically assaulting and stalking them - youth detention homes are where they should be put.
0

Ronald F StarkAug. 21, 2012 - 04:21PM JST

Bullying that involves physical contact should be treated as assault, assault and battery, etc. Things like burning, cutting, mock drownings should be considered torture. The person committing these acts should be treated as a criminal regardless of age. Educators who mock victims, ignore criminal behavior, or attempt to cover up by denial or destroying evidence, should be treated as accomplices to such crimes and punished equally hard. Teachers who intervene and prevent or stop bullying should be treated as professional educators to be admired by others.
0

combinibentoAug. 21, 2012 - 04:49PM JST

Yes, of course it is criminal behavior, assuming assault and battery are crimes in Japan. Assault is an act that creates an apprehension in another of an imminent, harmful, or offensive contact. The act consists of a threat of harm accompanied by an apparent, present ability to carry out the threat. Battery is a harmful or offensive touching of another. Both are crimes, so the minute bullying involves either of these acts, it becomes criminal behavior.
1

AliasisAug. 21, 2012 - 09:59PM JST

Serious violence, assault, etc. should all be treated as crimes. If a kid gets beat up, the bullies should be facing a lot of trouble. If it gets to the point where a kid is afraid to go to school, something has to be done. At very least, schools need to dole out strict punishments and preferably step in and stop it before it gets out of hand. It's probably impossible to completely stamp out bullying but surely we can do a lot better than we've been doing now!