EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN WITH EU SUPPORT – #STOPBULLYING IN SCHOOLS ACROSS THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA

Children from 10 public educational institutions in Moldova were informed on prevention of bullying in schools

During November and December 2021, Social Mission” Diaconia” organised a series of informational sessions on bullying in 10 schools in Moldova (from Chisinau municipality, Ialoveni, Straseni, Anenii Noi, Singerei, Cimișlia and Nisporeni).

To this end, the children from 10 partner schools of the project learned in an interactive and captivating manner, what bullying is, how to differentiate bullying behaviour from other types of aggression, what are the roles of people involved in bullying situations, as well as the forms of bullying.

The second session dedicated to bullying, which will take place starting with February 2022, will focus on topics related to the causes and effects of bullying behaviour, as well as the need to take action. The content of the bullying sessions was adjusted according to the conclusions and recommendations of the Gender Analysis carried out within the HOPE project, with an emphasis on the particularities of bullying behaviour for boys and girls.

At the same time, the activities that take place within the project come to support the efforts of the Government of the Republic of Moldova to prevent and reduce the phenomenon of bullying in schools. In this regard, on 9 December 2021, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova voted in a first reading, an amendment to the Education Code that regulates the notion of bullying, so as to prevent cases of bullying between children, student-teacher and even parent-child. In this sense, through the proposed amendments, the phenomenon of bullying will be regulated and recognised as a form of psychological violence, which results in the creation of a situation of intimidation.

Moreover, according to a report by UNICEF Moldova (Bullying among adolescents in the Republic of Moldova, 2019), 86.8% of students in grades VI – XII are affected by bullying in the Republic of Moldova. The most alarming situation is in educational institutions in Chisinau, where every fourth student has been a victim of this phenomenon or has witnessed bullying.