Posted: August 19th, 2022

Bullying can be defined in multiple ways

Criminal Justice

Bullying can be defined in multiple ways, but it typically refers to the act of attacking or intimidating others with the intention of causing harm or fear in an individual. Bullying can take many forms, including physical violence, ostracism, verbal mockery, threats, and rumours that are either spread by word of mouth or other communication means like the internet. Bullying is quite rampant in schools and workplaces, and it causes a variety of emotional, mental and psychological issues to the victim; other victims also resort to committing suicide. Rey et al. (2019) state that 8% of girls and 4% of boys who are constantly bullied in school become suicidal. For these reasons, bullying should be criminalized. Therefore, anti-bullying laws can be passed. For instance, the laws can make it a crime to harass, intimidate and bully other people. The violation of this law can attract hefty fines and even imprisonment of up to a year. According to Blood & Blood (2016), the fear of stringent punishments associated with anti-bullying laws actually serve to prevent people from bullying others.
There is also the need to also pass an anti-bullying law that seeks to compensate the victims of bullying. As mentioned earlier in the paper, victims suffer psychological, emotional and mental harm, and as such, it is paramount to ensure that they are compensated. This is where restitution comes into play. People found culpable of bullying should be required by the law to award the victim damages that are equal to the harm inflicted (this is particularly applicable in workplace scenarios). This can be in the form of money. For instance, a victim who has suffered psychological harm from bullying and has sought counselling services as a result should be compensated for the money spent for the services and loss of productive hours.

References
Blood, G. W., & Blood, I. M. (2016). Long-term consequences of childhood bullying in
adults who stutter: Social anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, self-esteem, and satisfaction with life. Journal of fluency disorders, 50, 72-84.
Rey, L., Quintana-Orts, C., Mérida-López, S., & Extremera, N. (2019). Being bullied at
school: gratitude as potential protective factor for suicide risk in adolescents. Frontiers in psychology, 10, 662.

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