World Vision Romania launches guide to combat bullying at school

World Vision Romania, the local branch of the international Christian relief and development NGO, announced the launch of the “School Where We Feel Good” anti-bullying guide on November 5, the International Day against Violence and Bullying at School.

The launch took place simultaneously with the publication of a study conducted by the organization on the subject of bullying, which revealed that 62% of children in Romania say they have been victims of bullying at school in the past year, while 7% say they are targets of peer violence daily.

A total of 413 students from preparatory grade to 12th grade responded to the survey between October 7 and 23, 2026. The study is not nationally representative, so the results cannot be extrapolated to the entire school population in Romania.

Nonetheless, the survey revealed some stark findings. Some 4% of children feel completely excluded from the classes they attend, 10% feel very poorly integrated, while 32% feel they have adapted to a moderate extent. On the other hand, 26% of children say they have integrated well, while 28% say they have integrated very well into their classes.

Some 62% said they had been targets of bullying at school in the past year: 24% once every few months, 18% monthly, 13% weekly, and 7% daily.

Even more concerning is that 6% of children said they had been victims of physical violence at school almost daily over the past year, 8% weekly, 11% monthly, and 17% once every few months. Some 57% of children say they have not been targets of physical violence at school in the past year.

Most bullying incidents took place in the schoolyard and hallways (21% each), in the classroom (16%), in the changing room/bathroom (15%), and online/on student groups (12%).

According to the survey, if they were victims of violence, children would inform a parent or family member (43%), a teacher or homeroom teacher (27%), a friend or classmate (15%), or the school counselor (8%). On the other hand, 6% of students say they would not tell anyone.

Regarding their confidence in teachers' ability to help them in a bullying situation, 41% of children say they have a lot or a great deal of confidence in them, 28% have moderate confidence, while 31% say they have little or no confidence in teachers.

If a classmate were humiliated, harassed, or hit, 32% of children say they would intervene to defend their classmate, 30% would inform an adult, and 16% would talk to the classmate to offer support. However, 22% would be less involved: 10% would watch without intervening, 6% would not know what to do, and 6% would walk away to avoid getting involved.

Against this backdrop, World Vision Romania Foundation launched the guide “The School Where We Feel Good,” which includes activities to prevent bullying and violence. These activities were previously tested in schools, kindergartens, and high schools by 43 non-governmental organizations as part of the SAVE – School Anti-Violence Ecosystem program, coordinated by the World Vision Romania Foundation and funded by the European Union.