THE CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL BASES OF COUNTERACTING BULLYING IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The article describes bullying as a constitutionally legal tort that violates fundamental human rights. It has been identified that bullying is a conflict that occurs among adolescents in the process of fighting for authority and leadership. Given that the established administrative responsibility for the commissioning of bullying does not give an effective result in counteracting this phenomenon, it is proposed to bring the counteraction of bullying to the constitutional and legal level. To this end, it is proposed to amend the National Human Rights Policy Framework and the National Strategy on Human Rights accordingly. It is emphasized that the legal policy of the state should be aimed at eliminating the causes and conditions of the emergence of bullying, so that not only domestic violence should be combated, but also the growing generation should be educated in the spirit of respect for human rights. The study proposes to supplement Article 173-4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the "Bullying (harassment) of a participant in the educational process" as a qualifying characteristic of a person with disability, since in 50% children become victims of bullying because of their appearance, including through physical disabilities. It is noted that in Ukraine both public authorities and public organizations are engaged in counteraction to bullying. A special role is assigned to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, which conducts preventive work, which includes lectures, trainings, development of campaign materials, videos, organization of the All-Ukrainian Week of Countering Bullying. It is proposed to introduce the practice of "logging" cases of bullying at school to describe the situation; attention should be paid to educational programs for teachers regarding the overall study of the issue of bullying; conduct informative discussions with parents about bullying; deliver lectures / trainings with the involvement of a school psychologist to counter bullying. Organizing leisure activities for teenagers is also a sufficiently effective way of preventing bullying, creating free sports sections contributes to channeling adolescents' energy into a peaceful channel. The state's legal policy should be directed not at punishing the aggressor, but at preventing bullying.