School bullying costs Victoria $135 million every year, report says

ALMOST one in four Victorian students is bullied at school, with the long-term effects costing the state hundreds of millions of dollars, a landmark study has found.

ALMOST one in four Victorian students is bullied at school, with the long-term effects costing the state hundreds of millions of dollars, a landmark study has found.

Teachers busy dealing with bullying complaints and parents missing work to look after traumatised children have created a $135 million annual hit to the economy, the PwC Australia study revealed.

Researchers found bullying is a time bomb, with massive costs arising from chronic health conditions in the years after students leave school.

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Almost 230,000 students are bullied each year by 136,000 bullies — often online.

The study, commissioned by the Alannah & Madeline Foundation, lays bare the shocking prevalence of bullying in our schools, finding:

UP TO 228,000 students are bullied each year by 136,000 bullies;

SCHOOLS experience an average of one bullying incident each week;
TEACHERS dealing with bullying complaints cost $85 million each year in lost productivity;
CARERS missing work to look after students who avoid school cost the economy $45 million each year; and

LONG-TERM costs of bullying are estimated to hit $510 million for each school year group in the 20 years after school, including $85 million for chronic health conditions.

Alannah & Madeline Foundation chief executive Lesley Podesta described the report’s findings as shocking but not surprising.

“The trauma bullying causes victims, their families, schools and the community is significant and is felt both immediately and long after victims have completed school,” she said.

Bullying can be overt, covert or done in cyberspace.

Ms Podesta acknowledged that putting a dollar figure on bullying may seem “impersonal” but defended the approach as “a powerful way to shine a spotlight” on the issue.

“Understanding these costs is critical to informing effective programs and prevention measures to reduce its occurrence,” she said.

The study’s authors defined bullying as the ongoing misuse of power in relationships through repeated verbal, physical or social behaviour.

Abuse was broken into three categories — overt bullying, which is easiest for parents and teachers to spot; covert bullying, which can take the form of exclusion or undermining, and cyber-bullying, which is largely conducted out of sight online.

Education Minister James Merlino said the study “underlines the serious, far-reaching impacts of bullying for both the victims of bullying and our society as a whole”.

The long term effects of bullying can include chronic health conditions.

Mr Merlino said the Andrews Government was tackling the issue and pointed to programs such as the cyber-safety eSmart initiative and a $9.5 million anti-bullying and mental health program.

“We know that healthy, happy and resilient kids are best placed to learn and reach their full potential,” he said.

Child psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg said long-term effects of bullying could wreck victims’ confidence and sense of worth.

“Ensuring young people feel included, valued and respected for who they are is essential to keeping them happy and safe, and to allow them to grow up strong and resilient,” he said.

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John Caldwell was 11 when he watched his father die.

The broadcaster, entrepreneur and former Victorian Australian of the Year said that experience was less traumatic than his treatment at the hands of schoolyard bullies.

“Going through that trauma as well as other traumas — nothing affected me as much or as badly as school bullying,” he said.

Mr Caldwell’s childhood was marred by abuse and alcoholism. He was “always the poorest kid in school” and never had a uniform or a lunch box.

Bullies targeted his looks, his sexuality and his appearance. “It was from the second I walked in the gate to the second I walked out at the end of the day,” he said.

Mr Caldwell left school at 15 and was homeless for a time before getting his life back on track.

Broadcaster and entrepreneur John Caldwell was bullied severely as a child. Picture: Darren Leigh Roberts

Now, he is a national entertainment reporter for a radio station and runs an international recruitment company — but the scars remain.

“No matter how successful I am, I walk into every room thinking: ‘I’m not supposed to be here, is everybody is laughing at me?’” he said.

“You never get over this (and) I find as years go on, I sometimes struggle to remember what my dad looked like, but I can still feel right now those feelings of being bullied ... It never goes away.”

Mr Caldwell, an Alannah and Madeline Foundation ambassador, said the study’s outcomes “vindicated” him.

He sees himself as living proof for the theory that bullying does lasting serious harm.

“This is a billion dollar problem and I’ve been banging on about it for years,” he said.

“There’s a change in the wind, people are listening and taking it seriously — but until this study no one had the slightest clue how bad this problem is.”

Mr Caldwell believes teachers and parents have become better at recognising bullying — but worries that cyberspace has made the problem more difficult to control.

“When I was a kid, I was able to come home, close my door and block it out — now with technology it’s impossible to do that,” he said.

His message to young people experiencing bullying was simple.

“I’m not going to just say it gets better, because that’s not entirely true,” he said.

“But what you should know is that the things that make you different that you have to hide — those are the things that will make you successful in the real world.”

If you need help, contact beyondblue on 1300 224 636 or Lifeline on 131 114.

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