China School Bullying: Court finds five teens guilty of extreme abuse toward schoolmate

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There has been growing concern over school bullying in China in recent years. On Thursday, a court in Beijing found five teenage girls guilty of extreme bullying toward a schoolmate. Wang Yuan has the story.

Ideally, schools are places where children can learn and make friends.

All too often though, school-yards are also breeding grounds for bullies.

A court in Beijing has found these five girls guilty of extreme verbal and physical abuse toward two of their school mates in their dormitory. The bullies took videos of the harm they inflicted and circulated the images within a small group of people online.

Now, they're trading in their dorms for a detention facility, on orders from the People's Court in Beijing's district of Xicheng.

Bullies can be found in schools across the nation.

ZHAO ZHONGXIN PROFESSIONAL COMMITTEE OF FAMILY EDUCATION CHINESE SOCIETY OF EDUCATION "Fights usually happen when students have disagreements on a issue, and they use this way to solve the problem. Bullying, on the other hand, is different. It involves physical abuse and it usually targets the weak. This gives the bully a false sense of power."

An increasing number of school bullying cases have come to light in China in recent years. Nearly 12-hundred people were arrested for bullyng in January to November of 2016.

An analysis of hundreds of bullying videos online shows 80 percent of cases involve people being slapped in the face.

Verbal abuse is just as common, appearing in 78 percent of videos, while 14 percent of cases involve the use of items such as sticks and bricks to hurt other students.

One expert says it's up to adults to step in.

TONG LIHUA, DIRECTOR BEIJING CENTER OF LEGAL AID AND RESEARCH FOR ADOLESCENTS "When a child is bullied, he is usually afraid to tell his parents or teachers about it. Parents play an important role in dealing with school bullying, but schools have more responsibility. When a child is found in such a situation, the school should investigate and deal with it in time."

Last year, China's education authorities launched a campaign to curb school bullying, which focused on legal and mental health education for students.

Expert believe that a system for youth protection needs to be established, allowing parents and teachers to seek advice and assistance for children.

With more awareness and targeted measures, bullying may still be controlled. Wang Yuan, CGTN