Bullying remains a serious issue in South African schools, affecting learners from all backgrounds. Research shows that being bullied can have lasting impacts on a child’s well-being and academic success—but what factors are associated with risk? To put the right support in place, schools and policymakers need to understand the key risk factors. A recent HSRC study explores the different forms of bullying and reveals which learners are at risk of exposure to specific forms of bullying.
In March 2025, a Grade 7 learner from Vulindlela Primary School in Harrismith, Free State, took her own life. According to her mother, she left a note that described the emotional distress she experienced at school due to bullying. Her experience was not an isolated case: within the first month of the 2025 school year, 548 incidents of bullying had already been reported in South African schools. “We have to make sure schools are places of safety, and not places where children are subjected to bullying,” said Basic Education Minister Sivive Gwarube, in an interview on Newzroom Africa.
Such events reflect a broader evidence base. Extensive research has shown that bullying has devastating consequences for children and adolescents. A 2021 review of 28 studies found that victims of bullying experienced increased depression and anxiety, increased peer rejection, and poorer connectedness at school.
Additionally, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019 conducted by the HSRC showed that in South Africa, bullying experiences were correlated to lower academic achievement in primary school learners. For example, Grade 5 learners who said they were bullied only “rarely” achieved higher average scores than those who reported being bullied weekly or monthly.
“Bullying is distinct from other forms of aggression because of an unequal power dynamic between perpetrator and victim, with the perpetrator possessing greater physical or psychological power or both,” wrote HSRC researchers Dr Andrea Juan, Sylvia Hannan, and Dr Jaqueline Harvey in a recent paper on bullying in South African primary schools. Their paper explored what bullying looks like in South African primary schools, how common it is, and the risk factors behind it.
Forms of bullying in South African schools
Bullying in South African primary schools appeared in four main forms: physical, verbal, relational, and cyber, and could be either direct or indirect. Physical bullying, always direct, involved actions such as hitting, kicking, stealing, or damaging property. Verbal bullying ranged from teasing (direct) to sending threats (indirect). Relational bullying included intimidation (direct), spreading of lies (indirect), or exclusion from games (indirect).
A newer form, cyberbullying, occurred through digital devices such as phones, computers and tablets. It involved indirect actions, such as posting misleading or harmful information or photos online, or direct ones such as sending hurtful messages via social media or messaging apps.
Prevalence and extent of bullying
Figure 1 shows the types of bullying experienced by primary school students in South Africa and the extent to which they are experienced. Overall, theft emerged as the most common type of bullying, with more than half of the learners reporting that something had been stolen from them. Harvey told the Review that TIMSS identifies theft as a form of bullying. “Theft is defined as one way of exerting power over another,” she said. Additionally, 38% of students reported that their belongings were damaged, and 37% had been physically hurt by others.
Nearly half (47%) of the learners said they had been made fun of, while 32% reported being forced to do something by their peers. Also, 41% of learners said they had been lied about, a third had received threats, and 38% had been left out of games or group activities.
Cyberbullying was reported less often than other forms but still affected a significant number of learners. About 27% said that information or photos had been posted about them online, and another 27% had received hurtful digital messages. “While reports of cyberbullying were relatively lower than other forms of bullying, it is a form that must be monitored as internet access increases in the country,” wrote researchers. “Due to the nature of cyberbullying, which can occur anonymously, can reach a broad audience and can be difficult to remove from the public domain, it can have devastating and long-lasting effects on victims.”
Figure 1. Percentages of students who experience different forms of bullying
Source: Juan et al., 2025
Risk factors
Socio-economic status
The study showed that across all forms of bullying, students in no-fee schools experienced more bullying than those who attended fee-paying schools. “In South Africa, where schools face significant resource inequalities, comparing no-fee and fee-paying schools is especially important. The findings showed a clear difference in the average levels of bullying experienced by learners in these two school types,” wrote researchers.
Figure 2 shows the difference in rates of bullying in no-fee schools versus fee-paying schools. The biggest differences were found in cyberbullying, where learners in no-fee schools were more than twice as likely (29%) to have had a photo posted of them online that embarrassed, humiliated, or intimidated them, than learners in fee-paying schools (13%). Additionally, 10% more learners from no-fee schools had had property stolen or damaged.
The smallest differences in bullying between school types were found in teasing and the spreading of lies, with 8% more students reporting these experiences in no-fee schools compared to fee-paying schools.
Figure 2. Percentages of students who experience different forms of bullying in no-fee schools and fee-paying schools
Source: Juan et al., 2025
Age
The study found that older learners were more likely than younger ones to experience most types of bullying, especially verbal and cyberbullying. “The study findings related to age do not fit within international literature, where the latter has found that younger students are at a higher risk of being victims of bullying,” the researchers wrote. “This requires further study.”
Gender
Boys were generally more likely to be bullied, particularly when it came to cyberbullying, such as having photos shared or receiving hurtful messages online. This was also true of indirect bullying, such as social exclusion or the spreading of rumours. “This is noteworthy, as bullying among girls has previously been noted to take the form of indirect or verbal bullying,” wrote researchers. Types of bullying in which no major gender differences were found were exclusion from games and physical bullying.
School climate and perceptions of safety
Students’ feelings about school, such as feeling safe and like they belonged, were a weaker but still important factor in how often they were bullied. Students who felt more secure and connected at school were less likely to be bullied. This link was true for all types of bullying except theft. “Students who are victims of bullying may often feel like they do not belong or fit in at school and have trouble socialising with peers,” wrote researchers.
The researchers identified that perceptions of safety were not directly associated with bullying. “Nevertheless, the association’s existence indicates that these psychosocial factors should still be considered in identifying students at risk of being bullied,” they wrote. “School management teams need to make a conscious effort to create a school climate where students feel welcome and ensure that safety and discipline policies are enforced.”
Implications for intervention and policy
According to the researchers, interventions should recognise the different forms of bullying and be tailored to the specific types that occur. “Such data is crucial in informing the development of appropriate school safety programmes,” they wrote. “Effective solutions must look at how individual traits, relationships, school and community settings, and wider social forces interact. Just as important is weaving ubuntu into education—emphasising collective responsibility, interconnectedness, and the well-being of the whole community.”
Research contacts and acknowledgements
This article was written by Jessie-Lee Smith with inputs from Dr Andrea Juan (chief research specialist), Sylvia Hannan (chief researcher), and Dr Jacqueline Harvey (research specialist) from the HSRC’s Equitable Education and Economies Division. It was based on the paper At risk: Age, gender, and socio-economic status in bullying victimisation among South African primary school students. For more information about this work, please contact: Juan, Hannan, or Harvey at
The survey/project/research team included those who worked on the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).
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