Almost a third of Lithuanian adolescents are experiencing bullying, one of the highest rates in Europe, a WHO study shows.
A new report from the international Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, published on Tuesday by the WHO Regional Office for Europe, looked at the health and social behaviours of adolescents aged 11, 13 and 15 in Europe and Canada.
The survey shows the highest level of bullying among Lithuanian 13-year-olds, with 32 percent of boys and 31 percent of girls saying they experienced bullying.
Among the 11-year-old teenagers, 29 percent of boys and 26 percent of girls reported bullying, while the figures were 26 and 21 percent, respectively, among 15-year-olds.
Lithuania also leads in terms of bullies and is only behind Moldova in the 11-year-old group. In Lithuania, 24 percent of boys and 17 percent of girls aged 13 said they had taken part in bullying. In the 15-year-old group, they made up 30 and 15 percent, respectively, and 20 and 11 percent in the 11-year-old group.
Carried out every four years, the WHO-initiated survey was done in 2018 in 45 countries and asked school students whether they experienced or took part in bullying over the previous several months.
Compared to 2014, fewer boys in all age groups said they experienced bullying: down from 35 to 29 percent among the 11-year-olds, 31 to 24 percent among the 13-year-olds and 29 to 26 percent among the 15-year-olds.
Alongside Lithuania, bullying is most widespread in Latvia, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia, Russia and England.
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