Bullying in schools in Odesa region: cases are increasing, but managers are silent about them

The number of reports of bullying in schools is growing in Odesa region. Often, the management of educational institutions tries to hush up such incidents in order not to damage the reputation of the institution.

This was reported by the regional representative of the Ombudsman, Nadiya Leshchyk, to Suspilne.

According to her, in the first five months of 2025 alone, 72 people appealed to human rights defenders, while in 2024, 146 such appeals were recorded for the entire year. The growth is constant: in 2022, the police opened 79 cases of bullying, in 2023 - 96, and in 2024 - 219.

Leshchyk emphasized that some school leaders try to hide such cases by convincing parents not to disclose information to preserve the school's image.

"We are currently considering several appeals where school administrators ask parents to withdraw their applications so that there is no publicity and no negative impact on the school's image. We have to understand that these are children and teenagers. There is violence. And it is important not to create some artificial positive atmosphere at school. It's quite the opposite: we need to fight this phenomenon," the ombudsman said.

Parents are often forced to transfer their children to other classes or schools to ensure their psychological safety. The causes of bullying can be domestic violence, negative influence of social networks or the media - children begin to perceive aggression as normal.

The Ombudsman urged parents to record cases of bullying, contact the management of educational institutions and the police.

Meanwhile, in Odesa, police are checking information about bullying and extortion at Lyceum No. 65 after a video appeal by the student's mother. Law enforcement officers also opened a criminal investigation into child abuse through bullying of a school student in the village of Shevchenkove, Kiliya community, Izmail district, Odesa region.

By the way, in a live broadcast from Intent, Intent.Insight spoke with Volodymyr Nemertsalov, founder and project manager of the Veda private lyceum, about bullying in schools.

Ірина Глухова