What do the data tell us about school violence and bullying?The scale of the problem Almost one in three students (32%) has been bullied by their peers at school at least once in the last month. In all regions except Europe and North America, physical bullying is the most common and sexual bullying is the second most common type of bullying. In Europe and North America, psychological bullying is the most common type of bullying. Cyberbullying affects as many as one in ten children. More than one in three students (36%) has been involved in a physical fight with another student and almost one in three (32.4%) has been physically attacked at least once in the past year. Information about sexual violence perpetrated by peers is limited but evidence from sub-Saharan Africa suggests that a schoolmate is more likely to be the perpetrator than a teacher, especially for boys.Globally, physical violence perpetrated by teachers is uncommon but, in some countries, children report high levels of physical violence at the hands of their teachers. Corporal punishment, which is a form of physical violence, is still allowed in schools in 68 countries and is frequently used in many of these countries.
*This table compiles data collected from different surveys for which the years of data collection, sample profiles and methods of measurement vary. Therefore it is not recommended to compare the data across different sources.[1] The names of countries, territories and geographical areas used in this table are those used by the international surveys that are the data sources for the table. These designations do not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.