New Report Examines Gender Differences in Bullying Victimization at School

A new report from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute for Educational Sciences offers statistics on the prevalence of bullying in the nation’s schools. In 2019, 22 percent of all students ages 12 to 18 reported that they had been victims of bullying. Ths bullying of students consisted of a number of offenses including being made fun of, called names, or insulted; having false rumors spread about them; being pushed, shoved, tripped, or spit on; excluding students from participating in activities they wanted to do; and students having their property destroyed.

The report also contained some statistics relating to gender. More than 25 percent of all girls reported that they had been bullied compared to 19 percent of boys. Among students who reported being bullied, 43 percent of girls said they were victimized in a school hallway or stairwell compared to 33.6 percent of boys who had been bullied. Boys were more likely to be bullied in locker rooms or restrooms than girls. Boys were also more likely to be bullied outside the building on school grounds.

The largest gender gap was in cyberbullying. More than 22 percent of all girls who were bullied said that they had been victims of cyberbullying. Only 7.6 percent of boys said they were victims of cyberbullying.

Some 20.5 percent of girls who had been bullied said they were victimized 10 or more times compared to 17.2 percent of boys who had been bullied. Nearly half of all girls who had been bullied said they expected to be bullied again in the future. Only 38.7 percent of the boys anticipated that they would be bullied again.

The full study, Student Reports of Bullying: Results From the 2019 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey, may be downloaded here.