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    Facts on Bullying and Harassment

    Bullying, cyberbullying and harassment jeopardize learning

    • Canadian teachers ranked cyberbullying as their issue of highest concern out of six listed options—89 per cent said bullying and violence are serious problems in our public schools.1
    • Victims of harassment report a loss of interest in school activities, more absenteeism, lower-quality schoolwork, lower grades, and more skipping/dropping classes, tardiness and truancy.2
    • Young people who report lower academic achievement levels or negative feelings about the school environment are more likely to be involved in bullying.3
    • 71 per cent of teachers say they usually intervene with bullying problems; but only 25 per cent of students say that teachers intervene.4
    • Over half of bullied children do not report being bullied to a teacher.5

    Statistics on bullying and harassment

    • A 2010 research project studying 33 Toronto junior high and high schools reported that 49.5 per cent of students surveyed had been bullied online.6
    • Between 4–12 per cent of boys and girls in grades 6 through 10 report having been bullied once a week or more.7
    • For boys, bullying behaviour peaks in grade nine at 47 per cent, while it peaks for girls in grades six, eight and nine at 37 per cent.8
    • In a 2007 survey of 13–15-year-olds, over 70 per cent reported having been bullied online and 44% reported having bullied someone at least once.9
    • One in four students from grades seven to nine in an Alberta study reported experiencing cyberbullying.10
    • Over 80 per cent of the time, bullying happens with peers around 11—and 57 per cent of the time, bullying stops within 10 seconds when a bystander steps in. 12

    Trends in bullying and harassment

    • Since 2002, fighting behaviour has increased, especially in grades six to eight. As many as 18 per cent of boys and 8 per cent of girls report having been in four or more fights in the past year.13
    • Boys are more likely to experience direct forms of bullying (physical aggression) while girls experience more indirect forms of bullying including cyberbullying.14
    • Sexual harassment is higher for boys in grades six and seven, but higher for girls in grades nine and ten.15

    1 N.S.T.U. Cyberbullying Statistics, “National Issues in Education Poll,” Canadian Teachers’ Federation (2008). http://definetheline.ca/dtl/cyberbullying/cyberbullying-in-canada/

    2 Pepler, D. & Craig, W. (2000). Making a difference in bullying (Report #60). Ontario: LaMarsh Centre for Research on Violence and Conflict Resolution and Queen’s University.

    4Pepler, D. & Craig, W. (2000). Making a difference in bullying (Report #60). Ontario: LaMarsh Centre for Research on Violence and Conflict Resolution and Queen’s University.

    5 Fekkes, M. Pijpers, F. I. M., & Verloove-Vanhorick, S. P. (2005). Bullying: who does what, when and where? Involvement of children, teachers and parents in bullying behavior. Health Education Research. 20(1):81–91. And Li, Q. (2007a). Bullying in the new playground: Research into cyberbullying and cyber victimization. Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 23, 435–454.

    6 Faye Mishna et al, “Cyber Bullying Behaviors Among Middle and High School Students,”  American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 80, no. 3 (2010):  362–374. http://definetheline.ca/dtl/cyberbullying/cyberbullying-in-canada/

    7 Craig, Wendy M. & McCuaig Edge, Heather. “Bullying and Fighting.” In Healthy Settings for Young People in Canada. W. Boyce, M. King, & J. Roche (Editors). Ottawa, Ontario: The Public Health Agency of Canada, 2008.

    8 Craig, Wendy M. & McCuaig Edge, Heather. “Bullying and Fighting.” In Healthy Settings for Young People in Canada. W. Boyce, M. King, & J. Roche (Editors). Ottawa, Ontario: The Public Health Agency of Canada, 2008.

    9 Lines, Elizabeth. (2007, April). Cyberbullying: Our Kids’ New Reality. Kids Help Phone. http://definetheline.ca/dtl/cyberbullying/cyberbullying-in-canada/

    10 Beran T & Li Q, 2005, Cyber-harassment: A study of a new method for an old behavior. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 32(3).

    11 Pepler, D. & Craig, W. (2000). Making a difference in bullying (Report #60). Ontario: LaMarsh Centre for Research on Violence and Conflict Resolution and Queen’s University.

    12 Hawkins, D.L, Pepler, D.J., & Craig, W.M. (2001). Naturalistic Observations of Peer Interventions in Bullying. Social Development, 10(4), 512-527.

    13 Craig, Wendy M. & McCuaig Edge, Heather. “Bullying and Fighting.” In Healthy Settings for Young People in Canada. W. Boyce, M. King, & J. Roche (Editors). Ottawa, Ontario: The Public Health Agency of Canada, 2008.

    14 Craig, Wendy M. & McCuaig Edge, Heather. “Bullying and Fighting.” In Healthy Settings for Young People in Canada. W. Boyce, M. King, & J. Roche (Editors). Ottawa, Ontario: The Public Health Agency of Canada, 2008.

    15 Craig, Wendy M. & McCuaig Edge, Heather. “Bullying and Fighting.” In Healthy Settings for Young People in Canada. W. Boyce, M. King, & J. Roche (Editors). Ottawa, Ontario: The Public Health Agency of Canada, 2008.