A series of bullying videos in China recently sparked online debates and calls for stricter law implementation in the country.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the current Child Protection Law states that children aged 14 to 16 years old are exempt from minor offenses except for murder, rape or arson cases. While this same law, which was created in 1991, aims to protect minors from getting severe punishment for lesser crimes, it also seems to allow most bullying cases to be swept under the rug.
The Legal Evening News reported about a viral video that was uploaded last Sunday of a first-grader being beaten up and burned with cigarettes by about four junior high school students. They were later arrested by the police.
Another bullying video surfaced in China of a junior high school girl being abused by her classmates. The girls and their parents were told to apologize to the victim after the video garnered 25 million views on Tencent.
A third case was also brought to the surface by the Sichuan Daily News. A 14-year-old was reportedly beaten up by four other girls and was also forced to pose for photos without her shirt on.
These cases brought forth a debate in the Chinese social media site Weibo, about the kind of punishment was fitting for these offenses.
"I hope they reform the Child Protection Law so that it actually protects kids who have been harmed, rather than the little beasts who connive to carry out violence!" a Weibo user reportedly commented.
"You want to spare these monsters because they're under 16 years old," another user heatedly shared on the site. "Well, the victim is an elementary school student. The shadow this incident leaves on his heart will be something he carries with him for the rest of his life."
Bullying isn't only happening in China. Children all over the world are suffering abuse, whether emotional or physical, from their own classmates and even friends.
According to Time's article about the subject in May, LGBTQ youths were the most targeted by bullies in the U.S. However, the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Educations Statistics reported that bullying rate was on a decline. This was most likely due to "increasing acceptance and major policy changes regarding same-sex marriage in the news, [and] social norms regarding sexuality".
With regards to the recent bullying videos in China, should a more severe punishment be given to these minors who deliberately hurt their own peers?
