Ukrainian Institute for the Future -

On January 19, 2019, the law №2657-VIII on combating bullying came into force in Ukraine. It introduces fines and instituting administrative actions against the perpetrators.

And the other day this law has already been applied – the parents of 9-grader girl, who brutally beat another girl, were charged in Boryspil.

How effective can the new law be in opposing child aggression, why do many children not seek help and what should parents whose children suffer from bullying do?

The introduction of fines cannot reduce the level of aggression among schoolchildren. It is about the environment where violence occurs. Unfortunately, the context of the law does not provide for the improvement of psychological health in the educational environment. Namely, because of various disorders, unresolved conflicts, unfulfilled needs, conflicts between children take the form of wildfire.

Aggressive behavior is, to some extent, inherent to living beings, including humans. We are endowed with psychology, which we inherited evolutionarily, and there are “integrated” natural aggression and behaviors. For example, domination. Just punishing will not help.