After more than eight years of struggle, the Ogpab, together with national deputies, managed to appear before the National Assembly to demand change for future generations.
Bullying has reached alarming levels in Panama, affecting the daily lives of numerous students. Víctor Alejandro Smoly, executive director of the Global Organization for the Prevention of Bullying (Ogpab), spoke with La Estrella de Panamá about the figures surrounding this behavior in the approximately 3,500 public schools and 800 private schools in the country.
Between March and October 2023, the organization conducted surveys in educational centers and discovered that in each school there are at least two children on the verge of suicide. “There were schools where we detected up to 18 cases of children who have had suicidal thoughts as a result of the bullying they experience on a daily basis,” warned Smoly.
Taking the minimum figure as a reference, the director of the Ogpab emphasized that this represents the possibility of having around “8,600 minors on the verge of suicide in Panama today.”
He added that approximately seven out of ten students have reported being victims of bullying. “In public schools, 75% of reported cases involve verbal bullying. With regard to cyberbullying, about 29% of young people report having experienced harassment on social media.”
As for private schools, Smoly pointed out that many of these institutions “are worse than some public schools.”
Anti-bullying bill
The director of OGPAB explained to the newspaper that the current bill against bullying has been presented on several occasions since 2016, “with different political parties and without success.”
It was together with Congressman Ariel Vallarino that he managed to present a bill to the National Assembly that was tailored to the current situation in the country. “What we want to achieve is for it to become law and to quickly begin to protect the lives of hundreds of Panamanian and foreign children who suffer indiscriminate school violence in their educational centers,” he said.
The bill has 36 articles, of which Smoly highlighted “involving families and community leaders, teachers, and the students themselves to eradicate bullying in schools” and “punishing educational institutions and teachers who allow or engage in any type of bullying or abuse within their facilities.”
En cuanto a las acciones necesarias para garantizar el debido manejo de dicho proyecto de ley contra el bullying y acoso escolar, Smoly informó que este sostuvo su primer debate el pasado 31 de octubre y dicha respuesta será resuelta en la segunda instancia.
Overcoming
Since 2022, Ogpab has been working to combat bullying and child suicide. Since then, they have reached 62,147 students, trained 9,118 parents, as well as 8,023 educators and 115 ambassadors around the world.
Smoly shared two “shocking” cases: the first involved a five-year-old girl who “attempted suicide due to daily abuse from her preschool teacher.” Since the educational institution denied the facts, the organization offered legal and psychological assistance to the minor and her parents. “The abusive teacher no longer works in any educational center, and the principal resigned last year,” said the director of Ogpab.
The second case occurred in 2022, when a 10-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Texas “suffered abuse and violence at a Catholic school; the teachers and administrators, aware of the situation, did not take measures to protect him due to his migrant status,” Smoly said.
“After his mother filed a complaint on our website, our NGO intervened quickly, presenting evidence to the authorities, which resulted in an academic restructuring: several teachers resigned and others were criminally punished. In addition, other parents joined the cause, and today the school conducts community activities to prevent bullying and promote inclusion,” he added.
“It is important that teachers are the ones creating safe school environments,“ said Smoly. ”It is their responsibility to maintain the integrity of their students. Let’s remember that if bullying occurs within the school, the responsibility lies with the school, its administrators, and teachers, never with the children.”
As for the home, “bullying, in some cases, begins there, and it is the parents’ responsibility to reinforce values and be emotionally present and active,” he said. “Today we have a generation of children who are orphans of living parents, and this is supported by our statistics, in which only 12% of children say they are happy at home. To put it more clearly, out of 100 children, only 12 are happy with their parents.”
Bullying or harassment
According to Smoly, “the most common forms of bullying we have observed tend to be verbal harassment, such as insults, teasing, and degrading nicknames, and social or relational harassment, which includes excluding victims from social groups and spreading rumors.”
Among its consequences, he cited low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression, “which can limit young people’s personal and academic development,” he explained. “Bullying creates emotionally weak adults,” he said.
The director of the organization offered some advice to readers: “You are not alone; you have our legal, psychological, emotional, and professional support. Report it, denounce it, and don’t be afraid to speak up.”
Regarding the measures necessary to achieve a safe environment, the professional communicated the importance of “practicing values, being an example to others, putting yourself in other people’s shoes, thinking before you speak or offend someone, and being a helping hand, not an aggressor.”
Victor Alejandro Smoly
Director of OGPAB
You are not alone; you have our legal, psychological, emotional, and professional support. Report, denounce, and don’t be afraid to speak up.