40% of school violence victims felt urge to self-harm: survey

The mother of a school bullying victim, wearing a mask to hide her identity, speaks at a press conference held in Seoul by the Blue Tree Foundation on Wednesday. (Yonhap)

Roughly 4 out of 10 students who were victims of school violence said they had felt the urge to either inflict injury on oneself or commit suicide, a survey by an NGO showed Wednesday.

The Blue Tree Foundation, a group dedicated to preventing school violence and help victims, said in a press conference that 3.5 percent of the respondents in their recent survey said they had been subject to violence at school, of which 39.9 percent said they felt the urge to hurt or kill themselves.

The foundation conducted a survey on 8,590 elementary, middle and high school students and 388 parents across the country between Nov. 21 and Jan. 19. Specifically, 4.9 percent of elementary school students said they suffered from bullying, 1.7 percent from middle schools said so, and 1.2 percent of high school students claimed to be victims.

The annual survey showed that the percentage of students with suicidal or self-injury thoughts have been increasing in the past three years, from 38.8 percent in the previous year and 26.8 percent in the year before that. Of the student-related emergencies the foundation intervened with in 2023, those related to self-harm or suicide cases accounted for 76 percent.

Self-harm impulses were more common among students who suffered cyberbullying than in-person abus, the survey indicated. Some 45.5 percent of the cyberbullying victims said they suffered from thoughts of suicide or self-harm, compared to 34 percent for the victims of offline abuse.

Cyberbullying refers to abuse that takes place online or via mobile devices, ranging from sending unwanted messages or images to spreading false rumors about the victim.

The mother of a cyberbullying victim appeared anonymously at Wednesday's press conference, wearing a mask, and said bullies spread false rumors about her son.

"(The bullies) made a social media account with my son's photo and uploaded posts like, 'I'm looking for gays.' They also sent sexually suggestive questions to multiple female students, pretending to be my son," she said.

Many victims feel that their case has not been adequately resolved by the authorities. Some 52.2 percent of the bullying victims in the survey said their case had not been properly handled, while 48.8 percent said the bullies had not even apologized.

Of the inquiries made to the foundation, 11 percent had requested for the legal consultation service. This marked an all-time high for the foundation.

Many perpetrators take legal action against the victims, with 40.6 percent of the victims saying the perpetrators themselves filed a legal complaint claiming that the victims actually inflicted damage on them.

School violence left lasting marks on the victims' parents as well, indicated by 98.2 percent of them saying they experienced emotional difficulties such as depression and anxiety. Some 75.2 percent said they went through financial difficulties, and 73.4 percent said the experience affected their livelihood.

The aforementioned parent surnamed Kim said she was forced to quit her job due to fear of leaving her child alone. "He was unstable, so I got nervous about leaving him alone at home. … School violence hurts not only the victim, but it brings down the entire family," she said.

By Yoon Min-sik(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)