- 56% of students have personally felt some sort of bullying at school. Between 4th and 8th grade in particular, 90% of students are victims of bullying.
- The most common reason cited for being harassed is a student’s appearance or body size. 2 out of 5 teens feel that they are bullied because of the way that they look.
- 9 out of 10 LGBT youth reported being verbally harassed at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation.
- 1 in 4 teachers see nothing wrong with bullying and will only intervene 4% percent of the time.
- A victim of bullying is twice as likely to take his or her own life compared to someone who is not a victim.
- One out of 10 students drop out of school because they are bullied.
- Physical bullying peak in middle school and declines in high school. Verbal abuse rates remain constant from elementary to high school.
- Researchers feel that bullying should not be treated as part of growing up (with the attitude “kids will be kids”).
- 41% of principals say they have programs designed to create a safe environment for LGBT students, but only 1/3 of principals say that LGBT students would feel safe at their school.
- 57% of students who experience harassment in school never report the incident to the school. 10% of those who do not report stay quiet because they do not believe that teachers or staff can do anything. As a result, more than a quarter of students feel that school is an unsafe place to be.
- Schools with easily understood rules of conduct, smaller class sizes and fair discipline practices report less violence than those without such features.