Malaga province sits at top of school bullying list in Andalucía

Of the 75 proceedings opened in Spain's Andalucía region during 2024 for bullying, 62 of them were opened in Malaga province, according to a report by the Andalusian Superior Public Prosecutor's Office. Malaga province is followed by Cádiz with six, Jaén with four and Huelva with three.

These are criminal proceedings initiated when a minor between 14 and 18 years of age commits an alleged offence. According to the report "the vast majority of cases are resolved out of court".

There is no record of any case in Seville province although on 15 October this year, a young girl, a pupil at the Irlandesas Loreto school, who had reported to the school that she was a victim of bullying, killed herself.

The Junta de Andalucía reported this week that the Irlandesas Loreto school did not activate either the bullying or self-harm protocol, as required by current legislation. It added that it will refer all the information on the case to the Public Prosecutor's Office and will open an case with the consequent requirements to determine possible responsibilities.

The Andalusian Ombudsman, Jesús Maeztu, has confirmed the opening of an investigation into the functioning of the protocol against bullying in the case of the death of the minor who fell from the balcony of her home in Seville. The Ombudsman's Office has submitted a report to the regional education authority and has called for prevention in the face of signs of bullying and violence. "The protocols have to work," the office said.

The protocol states that "any member of the educational community who has knowledge or suspicions of a situation of bullying against a student is obliged to inform a teacher, the tutor, the person responsible for guidance at the school or the management team, depending on the case and the member of the educational community who has knowledge of the situation. In any case, the recipient of the information shall always inform the head teacher or, in his/her absence, a member of the management team.

Following this communication, "the management team will meet with the tutor of the students affected and the person or persons responsible for guidance at the school to gather information, analyse it and assess the appropriate intervention". The meeting must be recorded "in writing", specifying the information gathered and the actions agreed. "In all cases in which it is considered that a situation of bullying may exist, the provincial education inspection service will be informed of the initiation of the action protocol," the document adds.

If deemed "necessary", "emergency measures required to protect the person being assaulted and prevent further assaults" will be adopted, the protocol establishes. Measures that "guarantee the immediate safety of the bullied student, as well as specific support and help measures; and precautionary measures aimed at the bullying student".

In the 2022/2023 academic year 2,700 activations of the bullying protocol were carried out in the Seneca public system, of which 500 were finally confirmed as bullying.