In Bangladesh, bullying is a common problem that begins at childhood and goes on until adulthood. According to a survey, 53 per cent of our schoolchildren are bullied in different ways. In most cases, some dominant students target their weaker peers, to make fun of their disabilities, academic performance and body shaming. However, this phenomenon has nowadays gone beyond just fun game, and led to ill consequences such as mental disorder or suicide committed by victims. Often the victims of bullying carry scars of the trauma throughout their lives.
A child who is bullied tends to question his/her capabilities, and this shatters self-confidence at the very initial stage. Bullying can sometimes hinder the innate mental development of a child. There is no substitute for creating a bullying-free environment in our schools so that we can create a positive mindset among all children. I strongly feel more are needed to be done to help students in this regard. Educational institutions should have mandatory classes on mental health issues as well as prevention of bullying.
Ashikujaman Syed,
Research Assistant, Bioinformatics
Research Lab,
Center for Research Innovation and Development (CRID), syedashikujaman@gmail.com