Cases of bullying have increased in schools

In the first four months of 2025, 130 cases of bullying were recorded in Ukraine, 50% more than in the same period last year. On average, the police draw up 32 reports per month.

This is stated on the Opendatabot platform, citing data released by the National Police of Ukraine.

More than half of this year's violations were committed by teenagers aged 14 to 16 or younger. In 2021, they accounted for only 44% of cases, and now they account for 58%.

The number of administrative cases against heads of educational institutions who conceal bullying is also gradually increasing: since the beginning of 2025, 11 such cases have been recorded, accounting for 9% of the total. For comparison, there were 14 (5%) in 2024 and only 13 (4%) in 2021.

At the same time, the number of repeated or group bullying by adolescents has decreased - only 5 cases this year, compared to 30 in 2024 and 35 in 2021.

Despite the overall increase in detected cases, court decisions were made in only 48% of cases.

By the way, in Odesa region, the number of appeals regarding child bullying in educational institutions is constantly growing. In the last 5 months alone, 72 people in the region have turned to human rights defenders for help.

According to the regional representative of the Ombudsman , Nadiya Leshchyk, 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, Odesa police are checking information about bullying and extortion at Lyceum No. 65 after a video appeal from the student's mother. Also, law enforcement officers have opened a criminal investigation into child abuse due to bullying of a school student in the village of Shevchenkove, Kiliya community, Izmail district, Odesa region.

In a live interview, Intent.Insight spoke with Volodymyr Nemertsalov, founder and project manager of the Veda private lyceum, about bullying in schools.

Ірина Глухова