Bullying that takes many forms has permeated many spaces and blighted the future of many victims through limiting their self-expression and independence where they are supposed to discover themselves and be inspired to aspire and grow into citizens that contribute to the good of their communities.
We have seen press reports in recent months of bullying in schools that has led to deaths and injury in some instances. What might not be apparent to the naked eye is the toll of the walking wounded, the ones that bear the scars of bullying right into adulthood and find themselves gripped by fear or resentment later in life due to the experiences of the past.
Elsewhere in this edition we carry a story of the punishment of the Tsholotsho boys that beat up a school girl badly late last year. The schoolboys have finally been sentenced. We believe that no one should ever get away with such acts.
However, what worries us is that with the rising cases of bullying, it would seem without such video evidence to back up the victim’s account, many of these cases are just swept under the carpet.
Turning a blind eye to such serious gender-based bullying even, gives the impression that society condones such abuse which is later carried into adult relationships whereby the boys feel a sense of entitlement over girls and hence pummel them at will out of habit that should have been nipped in the bud earlier on.
The President is on record as having urged parents not to spare the rod in disciplining children. We note that the court sentenced the boys to a jail term that is suspended on condition they perform community service.
The President is on record as having urged parents not to spare the rod in disciplining children. We note that the court sentenced the boys to a jail term that is suspended on condition they perform community service.
We hope many young people realise the impact of having a criminal record early in life though our view, judging by the customs of rural communities, is that a few strokes with the cane would have sent a deeper message to the young boys since they understand that language better.
What we would like to urge parents and pupils alike to do is to report such cases to school authorities and the police, and even traditional leaders so that the young offenders are corrected early before going deeper into deviance.
We also hope the affected pupils receive counselling so that they deal with the trauma associated with the abuse.
Also, since the bullies walk long distances with their victims from school, what measures have been put in place to assure the affected girl that she will not be brutalised again? We are also worried that the girl who filmed the act in the Tsholotsho incident seemed to be amused by the violence inflicted on the victim, showing that this was not an isolated incident but so common that it did not shock them.
This is how the abnormal is normalised over time, and the girl children are hardened into willing punchbags later in life as they would have endured beatings during their schooldays.
May parents be good examples at home so that children do not transfer violence from home into the school sphere, and later into their own homes.
