The school bullying crisis mirrors a society where violence is normalised, and parents and teachers play an important role.

Last month’s viral video from Cape Town’s Milnerton High School both shocked the public and exposed the depth of South Africa’s school violence crisis. In the footage, pupils are seen assaulting a Grade 10 learner with belts and hockey sticks. Eight pupils were arrested.

This is not an isolated incident. In October alone, several cases of violence were reported at schools countrywide. A Grade 9 learner in Boksburg was stabbed on school premises by a group of boys who jumped the fence. A group of girls was filmed assaulting a peer in Athlone. And at St Stithians College in Johannesburg, severe bullying damaged a Grade 1 child’s hearing.

Other incidents have ended in death. A 13-year-old died by suicide after years of bullying, and a matric learner was fatally stabbed in a brawl at an Eastern Cape school.

These stories reveal a grim pattern: violence among children is pervasive and normalised in schools across South Africa. Basic Education Department and United Nations Children’s Fund data from 2023 shows that around 3.2 million learners in South Africa experience bullying each year – roughly double the global average.

The problem is not new. A 2013 study of 12 000 Grade 9 pupils found that 36% were involved in bullying as victims, perpetrators or both. Eight percent identified as bullies, 19% as victims, and 9% as both – the last group suffering the most psychologically.

Findings from the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study revealed that 74% of South African Grade 5 students reported being exposed to one or more forms of bullying in schools almost monthly. Yet two-thirds of victims never report these experiences, fearing ridicule, disbelief or inaction by teachers.

The psychological and educational toll is severe: around one in 10 high school learners skips school to avoid bullying. Others experience depression, anxiety or suicidal thoughts.

School bullying mirrors a society where aggression and intimidation are often used to assert power or resolve conflict. South Africa’s high levels of interpersonal violence – in homes, communities, and workplaces – inevitably seep into schools. Children learn behaviour by observing adults.

Research by Professor Cathy Ward at the University of Cape Town refers to this as the social transmission of violence. She describes how children who witness domestic abuse or experience harsh discipline internalise the idea that power is maintained through force. Exposure to violence in childhood predicts both perpetration of violence and acceptance of victimisation as normal.

Nearly three decades after corporal punishment was outlawed in South Africa, it remains deeply entrenched in schools and homes. A 2019 Statistics SA study found that 8% of primary school-aged children experienced violence at school. This included corporal punishment (84%), verbal abuse (13.7%) and physical violence (10.6%) by teachers. Many parents still endorse and use physical punishment, believing it is good for children or needed for discipline.

This undermines anti-bullying efforts. Corporal punishment normalises violence as a legitimate response to wrongdoing and teaches children that authority is exercised through pain and humiliation rather than guidance.

When schools use harsh and punitive discipline, they replicate the same coercive dynamics found in violent households. Bullying is not simply mischief – it is the symptom of a social order that legitimises control through fear and pain.

At an event marking International Day against Violence and Bullying at School on 6 November, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube urged school leaders to act swiftly on allegations of bullying. Yet responses remain largely reactive – suspensions, expulsions or arrests – which address the behaviour, but not its causes.

Research shows that many perpetrators of bullying have themselves been chronically exposed to violence. Aggression becomes a learnt coping mechanism, and punishing them without psychological support recycles trauma and reinforces the cycle of humiliation and fear.

Moreover, focusing only on individuals obscures deeper systemic weaknesses, including under-resourced schools, overburdened teachers and limited access to psychosocial services. Few schools have trained counsellors, and community-based support systems are stretched thin. Teachers and parents often don’t know how to respond to or prevent bullying.

If schools are mirrors of society, the reflection staring back is troubling. Bullying is not just about children misbehaving; it’s about a country still struggling to unlearn violence as a social language. Until we address the environments that teach children that power belongs to those who can inflict the most harm, the headlines will repeat themselves – and each new video will reflect our collective failure to change.

If we want to create school environments where children are safe and where empathy, respect and accountability replace fear, adults must model non-violent behaviour. We need to walk the talk and bring policies and guidelines into practice. Action in five areas is key.

First, a shift from punishment to prevention is needed. Schools should adopt whole-school approaches that emphasise restorative discipline, peer mediation and positive reinforcement rather than exclusionary or punitive responses.

Second, psychosocial support must be strengthened. Every school should have access to trained counsellors or social workers. Partnerships with community-based organisations can help provide trauma-informed care and early intervention for victims and perpetrators.

Third, corporal punishment must be ended in practice, not just in law. Renewed campaigns and teacher training are needed to eliminate physical discipline in schools and promote non-violent classroom management.

Fourth, parents and caregivers need support. Parenting programmes that teach emotional regulation, communication and non-violent discipline can disrupt the intergenerational transmission of violence.

Last is the building of safer school cultures. The Basic Education Department must collaborate with schools, parents, educators and learners to establish clear anti-bullying policies, effective reporting mechanisms and peer-led initiatives that prioritise empathy, respect and accountability in school life.

Breaking the bullying cycle requires more than disciplinary reform; it demands cultural transformation. Concerted action is needed to support teachers and schools in knowing how best to respond to and prevent bullying. Parents must play a key role in this effort.

Written by Thandi van Heyningen, Senior Researcher, Justice and Violence Prevention, ISS Pretoria