Victorian students most bullied in Australia

Experts believe they have pinpointed why Victorian students are experiencing more bullying than their interstate counterparts.

Victorian students experience bullying more than kids in other states as reports ­nationally jumped by more than 30 per cent.

A survey of 50,000 students around Australia revealed one in five said they had been bullied in term one alone.

But the lockdowns in Victoria hit students hardest, with the number of kids who reported being bullied higher than the national average at closer to two in five.

Clinical psychologist Andrew Fuller said the “social fragmentation” school kids ­experienced during lockdowns fuelled the bullying increase.

“Historically, social fragmentation leads to an increase in disputes, this then leads to an increase in negative behaviours towards those on-the-outer groups. This could be sexism, racism, bullying or other types of negative behaviours,” Mr Fuller said.

An education department spokeswoman said the state’s $200m mental health fund and $82m ­Respectful Relationships program aimed to build cultures of respect and tolerance in schools.

“Victorian schools have zero tolerance for any form of bullying, harassment or violence,” the spokeswoman said.

Bullying is at its worst in Victoria. Picture: iStock

“Students can’t learn properly if they don’t feel safe and happy, and our priority is providing a safe and supportive environment for every child in every corner of the state.”

Research compiled by student wellbeing check-in site Skodel highlighted a rise in “cancel culture-style” bullying during which students singled out and ostracised their peers.

The findings come after the Herald Sun revealed social media pages on TikTok created by students at state schools in Shepparton and Traralgon encouraging students to vilify others because of their physical attributes or race.

Skodel chief executive Ian Fagan said reports of students feeling left out on school grounds and on social media flooded in towards the end of the 2021 school year.

“In today’s landscape with social media, and people being able to put up hate pages and do all sorts of things, these mechanisms that bullies have to be able to target their victims are just far greater and more prevalent,” he said. “We hypothesise that the lockdowns have contributed to that”.

In Victoria, the Bully Stoppers program encourages students, teachers, parents and principals to collaborate to ­address bullying on campus, while the eSmart initiative promotes safe social media use.

Skodel has an around-the-clock counselling service for students feeling bullied online or in schools.

Originally published as Victorian students most bullied in Australia