Definitions, prevalence and sources of violence in Denmark

Definition

• School violence is nearly always called bullying in the Denmark
• Bullying is repeated, long-term negative behaviour which leads to an individual or group being victimised by another individual or group. It can be verbal i.e. insults and name calling or physical i.e. physical violence or having personal belongings taken. It can be direct, as described, or indirect, for example, social isolation or being expelled by the group.
• Bullying creates an imbalance of power in which the victim usually loses status and self-esteem and thereby becomes helpless in front of the bully(ies). Bullying can, in its extreme, lead to an individual/group being totally segregated socially.
• Bullying is the absence or corruption of social norms. Therefore bullying may be prevented through making changes to the social norms and/or behaviours. This isn't easy because bullying isn't just one thing. Therefore it's important to look for the source of the bullying.

Prevalence

• Serious disruptive behaviour is rare in Danish schools.
• Theft-crimes committed by young people have been decreasing the last 15 years.
• Current research appears to agree on the levels of bullying in Danish schools. Research conducted by WHO (HBSC) in 1998 on 5200 pupils in Denmark, shows that 25% answered 'yes' to the question asking if they had been bullied.

Sources

• Bullying is mainly focussed on personal matters. The more a person (pupil) differs from the group in terms of looks, family background or behaviour, the greater the risk of being bullied. Bullying is about the psychological welfare of the child but the student is not protected by the workers welfare act.
• Victims of bullying have a very high proportion of health problems, poor well-being and low self-esteem. To bully others is significantly associated with health risk behaviours.