The National Prosecuting Authority says bullying has become rife not only in schools, but also in society.
The Deputy Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development, John Jeffery, and Director of Public Prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal, Elaine Zungu, have led an anti-bullying march at the Durban beachfront.
The march is part of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children. Learners, parents, teachers and various NGOs who were part of the anti-bullying march carried placards calling for an end to bullying.
Among them were learners who have experienced bullying, including Phumelele Ntanzi, a Grade nine pupil who says she was bullied because of her acne.
“I have faced bullying. It was in my younger years. I used to have a lot of acne and people used to bully me because of my acne because some people didn’t have it, their skin was smooth. So I had to get into a lot of treatment to get it done and as much as yes it’s getting finished some people still bully me. How I would say I have conquered it, I just embraced myself, my inner beauty.”
Director of Public Prosecutions, Elaine Zungu, says bullying is not regarded as a criminal offence, however, victims can lay charges.
“We don’t have a criminal offence called bullying. But bullying comes out in other forms of criminal offences for example there will be an assault, a child will be bullied and then assaulted, then after it takes place it can be assault common, it can be assault GBH, it can also be crimen injuria so it will come out there then. We look at the motivation that caused that criminal offence which motivation can then be bullying.”
Ten-year-old writes book about bullying
Ten-year-old, Siyavuya Mabece, says she was inspired to write a book about bullying because it is a challenge globally.
“Bullying is a big problem; it is a topical issue globally and locally. Kids end up killing themselves because of it and it is horrible to lose innocent lives. Secondly, kids are the future, if we keep on killing ourselves, what is going to happen? There is not going to be any future. Who is going to take over the government? Who is going to be the new president?”
The book titled: Enough! Stop Bullying, helps children to identify the signs of bullying.
“The book explains the types of bullying, which is cyberbullying on social media, social bullying where you are bullied because of your culture and physical bullying which is like punching, making physical contact with that person.”
Mabece encourages other children to report bullying as soon as it happens.
Author Siyavuya Mabece talks about her book Enough! Stop Bullying in an interview on Morning Live: