Around 100 cases of bullying in Ukrainian schools per year

At least 614 cases of bullying in schools have been recorded in the country over the last 5 years. Meanwhile, according to UNICEF, 67% of teenagers in Ukraine aged 11 to 17 have faced the issue of bullying.

From 2019 to the start of the full-scale war, the number of bullying cases remained steady at around 146 cases per year. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the number of proceedings has almost halved. Only 79 decisions in bullying cases were found in the «Babusya» court registry search engine for the year 2022.

Last year, the number of court decisions increased to 96, but still did not reach the levels before the full-scale war began.

ImageData

Number of court decisions on bullying

Year	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Number of court decisions on bullying	147	146	146	79	96

Most often in 2023, teenagers aged 14 to 16 were held responsible for bullying (Part 3 of Article 173-4 of the Administrative Code). This part of the article led to the highest number of bullying cases, with 51 decisions.

Cases of bullying committed by a group or repeatedly by teenagers aged 14 to 16 (Part 4 of Article 173-4 of the Administrative Code) also made it to the list.

School leaders may also be held responsible for not reporting cases of bullying — currently, 1 court case has been found in the registry for this (Part 5 of Article 173-4 of the Administrative Code).

ImageData

Types of bullying, article 173-4 of the Administrative Code

Bullying (harassment) - Part 1	25	26.0%
Bullying committed by a group or repeatedly - Part 2	1	1.0%
Bullying committed by minors - Part 3	51	53.1%
Bullying committed by a group of individuals or repeatedly by minors - Part 4	18	18.8%
Failure of an educational institution leader to report bullying - Part 5	1	1.0%

Most often, bullies receive fines, but in the registry, there are 2 court decisions where corrective labor was applied to the offenders. Both cases occurred in 2019: the first in the Zhytomyr region, the second in the Kherson region. Corrective labor was imposed for a duration of 20 hours in both instances.

Context

In Ukrainian law, bullying is defined as any violence, including online, that occurs concerning all participants in the educational process and harms the mental or physical health of the victim. Responsibility for bullying in educational institutions in Ukraine appeared in 2018 as an addition to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, Article 173-4. The law provides for two types of punishment: a fine ranging from 850 to 3400 hryvnias and community service from 20 to 60 hours.

Bullies face administrative responsibility starting from the age of 16. Before that age, parents are responsible for the actions of their children.

School leaders also bear responsibility for ignoring bullying incidents. They can be fined or assigned to community service and may face up to a 20% deduction from their earnings.