A. What is Peer Bullying?

Peer bullying refers to children being subjected to verbal, psychological and physical violence among their peers for various reasons, sometimes for no reason. Such acts usually take various forms such as exclusion, name-calling, humiliation, ridicule, physical teasing such as pushing and pulling, damaging belongings, gossiping and spreading rumors, and violence. Victimized children are often hesitant to disclose the situation to their parents or adults. However, coping with such situations can cause children to become withdrawn and unhappy, and can lead to various problems such as eating and drinking problems, restlessness, sleep disorders, nervous problems, feelings of worthlessness and academic failure.

Traditional peer bullying is generally defined as continuous attacks that are systematically and deliberately carried out at certain intervals by powerful children, called bullies and their helpers, on the weak and victimized child, called the victim.

In recent times, there has been a significant increase in cases of peer bullying in schools, both in our country and around the world. This increase is alarming and indicates a serious problem that requires precautions. In this article, the legal remedies available to parents of children who are subjected to peer bullying in schools will be discussed.

B. Peer Bullying Occurring in Schools

Peer bullying is often seen during school and after-school activities. As explained above, the psychological and physical actions of one or more children against other children who are weaker than them constitute the basis of peer bullying. In this context, school administrators, teachers and other employees should take any bullying incident seriously and not ignore it.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified and signed by the Republic of Turkey, emphasizes the fundamental principles of children's rights, especially the priority of the child's best interests and the prohibition of discrimination. This convention commits Turkey to secure children's right to education and to ensure that this right is provided on the basis of equal opportunities.

When a child is exposed to discriminatory interventions in the nature of ill-treatment by his/her schoolmates while benefiting from educational services, and such complaints are not taken seriously by the school administration, this constitutes a violation of the principle of equality before the law as set out in Article 10 of the Constitution.

The child being subjected to peer bullying should be evaluated in terms of the Turkish Human Rights and Equality Institution (TİHEK) Law, which is the most comprehensive legal regulation in Turkey regarding the principle of equality and prohibition of discrimination. In this context, the acts of peer bullying that a child is exposed to while receiving education services from a state or private school can be described as an act of harassment, which is among the types of discrimination specified in Article 4/I of the TİHEK Law. This means that the child's rights are violated and he/she is discriminated against.

Turkish Human Rights and Equality Institution Law Article 4/I/h:

Abuse: It is any intentional or unintentional behavior that has the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of an individual or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading or offensive environment for that person. Harassment can be carried out as a single act, with insults or degrading words, or as a series of behaviors spread over time. It is sufficient for the behavior to have a degrading or humiliating effect for harassment to exist. The fact that the person is not affected by the behavior does not change the outcome.

Applications made to the Turkish Human Rights and Equality Institution (TİHEK) are concluded within a short period of time - usually around three months - and applications are examined within the scope of all kinds of discrimination prohibitions. Since applications made to TİHEK suspend the period for filing a lawsuit, if the relevant institution makes a negative decision, the 60-day administrative lawsuit filing period begins.

In cases where the incidents cannot be related to the principle of equality and the prohibition of discrimination, various articles of the Constitution may come to the fore. For example; the constitutional provisions that guarantee the personal security of everyone, including children (Constitution Article 19), the right to demand respect for their private life (Constitution Article 20), freedom of religion and conscience (Constitution Article 24) and freedom of thought and opinion (Constitution Article 25) should be taken into consideration in cases where a child is subjected to peer bullying.

C. Legal Remedies That Can Be Applied

If a child is subjected to bullying by peers at school or during after-school activities, the situation should first be explained to the school administration, guidance counselor or relevant class teacher with a petition and the necessary measures should be taken. However, if the administration remains indifferent despite such a petition, a warning should be sent through a notary. This issue will form the basis of other legal remedies to be applied and will constitute evidence. In addition to all these, a complaint should be made to CİMER. If the school administration and teachers do not take the necessary precautions and show care despite the application, complaint and warning, a criminal complaint can be made to the prosecutor's office and a compensation lawsuit can be filed.

If we need to summarize the legal remedies that can be applied as a title;

1.    Application to School Administration with Petition
2.    Complaint to CİMER
3.    Warning Letter through Notary Public
4.    Compensation Case
5.    Application to TİHEK
6.    Criminal Complaint to Prosecutor's Office

If a petition is submitted to the school administration outlining the situation, disciplinary action may be taken against the bullying children based on the Regulation on Amendments to the Regulation on Secondary Education Institutions of the Ministry of National Education. The punishment to be applied by the school administration to the bullying student may range from a warning to expulsion from school.

 
Ministry of National Education Secondary Education Institutions Regulation Article 158/1:

Necessary measures are taken by the administrators and teachers; (...)) to protect students from gossip, bullying, threats, teasing and any degrading name-calling in order to prevent them from being physically and mentally harmed by the environment, school staff and other students, in cooperation with the parents or family and other relevant institutions and organizations.

D. Jurisdiction Court

+ The nature of the school where the bullying occurred is important in determining the competent court for the lawsuits to be filed.

+ If the bullying activity occurred in a state school and the relevant administrators remained indifferent, the competent court for the compensation lawsuits to be filed will be the administrative courts.

+ If the bullying activity occurred in a private school, the competent court will be the Consumer Court.

+ If the bullying activity occurred in a state school and the relevant administrators remained indifferent, the competent court for the compensation lawsuits to be filed will be the Administrative Courts.