KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 — Two-thirds of Malaysians or their family members have been victims of bullying in the past year, according to a new survey by Ipsos Malaysia.
“The Bullying in Malaysia: Malaysians Perception and Attitude Towards Bullying” survey found that schools were the most common setting for bullying, accounting for 65 per cent of the incidents.
This was followed by workplaces (41 per cent), cyberbullying (35 per cent), domestic bullying (24 per cent) and public bullying (16 per cent).
Most victims instead preferred to disclose their ordeals to their friends or family, with 44 per cent saying they confided in someone close to them and 32 per cent informing their parents.
By comparison, only 29 per cent reported the incidents to teachers or school authorities, 12 per cent to their employers or human resources departments, and 13 per cent to the police or other official bodies.
Just 12 per cent sought professional help such as counselling or therapy, while fewer than one in 10 (9 per cent) reached out to helplines or support hotlines.
While workplace bullying ranked second in occurrence, Ipsos noted that it was not as widely discussed as school-based incidents and cyberbullying on social media.
Verbal harassment is still the most predominant form of bullying, making up for 58 per cent of incidents while cyberbullying accounted for one-third of cases.
Other forms of bullying recorded in the survey include social exclusion (29 per cent), physical bullying (26 per cent) and bullying by teachers or staff (21 per cent).
The Ipsos survey also found that most Malaysians believed that the Education Ministry, parents and direct authorities — such as educational institutions and employers — are responsible for creating a bullying-free environment.
