<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
				
				<p>Bullying is part of the reality of teachers and learners all over the world. While other forms of bullying are limited to the time when learners interact face-to-face, cyber­bullying follows learners via their electronic devices wherever they go. Bullying negatively affect victims and amongst others result in anxiety, low self-esteem and poor academic performance. In some instances, victims become suicidal. Prevent­ing and counteracting bullying requires interventions on several level, and one pos­sibility is to take a legal response. In this paper, the South African legal response is considered. There are several legislative and common law remedies available to victims, but these are not without challenges. Explicit reference to bullying is made in only one act, namely the Children’s Act but no definition of bullying or cyberbul­lying is provided. It is clear that while there are sufficient legal remedies available in the South African context, to address bullying and cyberbullying, particularly with the emphasis on Human Rights and the rights of children, the suitability of legal action is questionable.</p>
			</abstract>

Bullying is part of the reality of teachers and learners all over the world. While other forms of bullying are limited to the time when learners interact face-to-face, cyber­bullying follows learners via their electronic devices wherever they go. Bullying negatively affect victims and amongst others result in anxiety, low self-esteem and poor academic performance. In some instances, victims become suicidal. Prevent­ing and counteracting bullying requires interventions on several level, and one pos­sibility is to take a legal response. In this paper, the South African legal response is considered. There are several legislative and common law remedies available to victims, but these are not without challenges. Explicit reference to bullying is made in only one act, namely the Children’s Act but no definition of bullying or cyberbul­lying is provided. It is clear that while there are sufficient legal remedies available in the South African context, to address bullying and cyberbullying, particularly with the emphasis on Human Rights and the rights of children, the suitability of legal action is questionable.

Can legal remedy be used to address bullying and cyberbullying in South African schools?

Polish Journal of Educational  Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Bullying is part of the reality of teachers and learners all over the world. While other forms of bullying are limited to the time when learners interact...

Can legal remedy be used to address bullying and cyberbullying in South African schools?

Published Online: Dec 31, 2018

Page range: 66 - 80

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/poljes-2018-0006

Keywords
Bullying, cyber bullying, school discipline, human rights, education law

© 2019 Mariëtte (J. M.) Reyneke, Lynette Jacobs, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Can legal remedy be used to address bullying and cyberbullying in South African schools?

Published Online: Dec 31, 2018

Page range: 66 - 80

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/poljes-2018-0006

KeywordsBullying, cyber bullying, school discipline, human rights, education law

© 2019 Mariëtte (J. M.) Reyneke, Lynette Jacobs, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Bullying, cyber bullying, school discipline, human rights, education law