Citation

Lets'opha MM, Jacobs L. Acta Criminol. 2017; 30(3): 87-102.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Criminological Society of South Africa)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Bullying in schools remains a serious problem despite an abundance of research on the topic, and numerous plans to curb the problem. The vast majority of the research reports do not focus on sub-Saharan countries, and those that do, predominantly focus on South Africa. In Lesotho, where children generally live under vulnerable conditions due to inter alia social-economic and environmental challenges, bullying is a common occurrence. Both the victims and perpetrators often lack the much-needed social support towards changing the situation due to broken family structures, amongst other reasons. Even though travellers to the country are warned about crime when they travel there, research on crime in Lesotho, and what leads to it, is rare. In view of the risk identified between engaging in bullying during adolescence and criminal behaviour in adulthood, and the vulnerability of Basotho children, this case study was conducted at one secondary school in rural Lesotho. The authors followed a qualitative, constructivist approach and extensively interviewed six participants, selected purposively based on their record of engaging in bullying behaviour towards others.

FINDINGS confirm that various forms of bullying occur in the particular school. Participants shared how they often engage in acts of bullying to gain popularity and acceptance, and because they like to feel powerful. Some participants justified their actions by putting the blame on the victims. While some participants were remorseful upon reflecting on their own behaviour, others were convinced that they have good reason to behave in this way, and will continue to do so. The authors conclude by proposing that a restorative, rather than a retributive approach be followed, to deal with the problem.

© Publisher: Criminological and Victimological Society of Southern Africa (CRIMSA)
Persistent Link : http://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC-bbcc9b7a7
Language : English

Language: en