One in Three High School Students Victimized by School Violence Say "I Get Beaten Every Day"

Korean Educational Development Institute, School Violence Survey Results
Perpetrator Type Overwhelmingly 'Classmates'

A survey revealed that one in three high school students who have experienced school violence suffer from it almost daily.

According to the '2022 2nd School Violence Survey Analysis Report' released on the 17th by the Korea Educational Development Institute (KEDI), about 1.6% (2,113 respondents) reported experiencing school violence. Among them, the victimization rates were 2.9% for elementary students, 1.0% for middle school students, and 0.3% for high school students, showing a trend of decreasing victimization rates as the school level increases.

However, the frequency of victimization increased with higher school levels. Among high school students who experienced school violence, 32.0% reported being victimized 'almost daily,' which is about one in three. Among middle school students with victimization experience, 23.6%, and elementary students, 20.0%, said they were victimized 'almost daily.'

The perpetrators were overwhelmingly 'classmates.' Responses indicating school violence by classmates accounted for 68.3%, a pattern consistent across elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as among both male and female students.

By type of school violence, verbal abuse was the most common at 69.1%, followed by physical violence (27.3%), group bullying (21.3%), cyber violence (13.9%), and sexual violence (9.5%).

This survey was conducted from September 19 to October 18 last year, targeting 154,514 students from 4th grade elementary to 2nd grade high school nationwide (with 132,860 respondents), covering experiences of school violence as perpetrators, victims, and witnesses. This is in accordance with the 'Act on the Prevention and Countermeasures against School Violence,' which mandates education superintendents to conduct school violence surveys twice a year and publish the results.

Typically, in the first semester, a full survey is conducted targeting students from 4th grade elementary to 3rd grade high school to investigate the patterns of school violence, while in the second semester, a sample survey of about 4% of students from 4th grade elementary to 2nd grade high school is conducted with more detailed questions to also examine perceptions of school violence.

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Photo by Yonhap News

KEDI stated, "It is noteworthy that many students, not only perpetrators, responded that school violence occurs 'as a joke or without any special reason.' Going forward, it is necessary to support the establishment of school violence countermeasures by conducting more detailed analyses to deeply examine the causes of school violence and the effectiveness of countermeasures."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.