Volunteers commissioner calls for coordinated action against school bullying

The state should focus its efforts on identifying and resolving social problems related to juvenile delinquency and adopt policies both against school bullying and harassment, providing comprehensive prevention and safety for children, Volunteers Commissioner Yiannis Yiannaki said on Sunday.

In a statement ahead of International Day Against School Bullying and Violence on Monday, Yiannaki said the active involvement and cooperation with parents, teachers, voluntary and non-governmental organisations, mutual support and exchange of ideas and experiences would help in the greatest possible collation of information and sensitisation of public opinion on the issue.

“Bullying is a phenomenon that is constantly gaining ground nowadays and is one of the major contemporary social problems, outbreaks of which occur worldwide in different ways and of varying intensity,” he said. “It is systematic, repetitive and intentional inside and outside schools.”

He said such violence takes different forms. It can be physical, verbal or psychological or a combination of all three that result in serious emotional impact on victims.

“Each school and the wider community have a role and responsibility in tackling bullying,” he added. “And though each member has a different role to perform, all should work together within a framework of parallel and interrelated actions to eradicate juvenile delinquency and create a school environment where mutual respect and cooperation prevails and where the feeling of security can promote friendship, acceptance, and team spirit.”

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.