Bullying is no longer confined to school playgrounds.
From classrooms and social media to offices and boardrooms, it continues to affect thousands of South Africans, with police warning that in some cases it can become a criminal offence that leads to arrest.

Douglasdale police used a Women’s Month outreach at Witkoppen Primary School to raise awareness about the different forms of bullying and encourage victims to report abuse before it escalates.

Read more: Help! My child is a bully

Brigadier Veeshani Arikum said bullying remains a serious concern across society and has devastating consequences, particularly for young people. She said bullying has evolved beyond the classroom and now includes cyberbullying and workplace bullying, often referred to as professional bullying.

“All these forms of bullying have contributed seriously towards suicides. There’s been an increase in suicides among children, especially the youth.”

Arikum explained that while not every disagreement with a manager constitutes bullying, repeatedly singling out an employee, humiliating them or abusing authority can amount to professional bullying.

“It is difficult to say when your manager is bullying you and when they’re actually giving instructions in your work. Bullying will be when a manager always picks on you. You might have done your job properly, and then they’re like, ‘I’m not happy with this, do it again.’ They might overlook other people and come to you specifically and ask why you’re five minutes late for work.”

She added that managers who intimidate employees or repeatedly force them to perform tasks outside their role through threats or abuse of power may be engaging in workplace bullying.

“If it’s serious bullying where you’re being harassed, or it’s professional bullying, you can report it to your human resources (HR) department. If your HR department does not do anything about it, you’ve got the Labour Court that you can take it to.”

Also read: Tips to be a tough boss without being a bully

Arikum said bullying can also cross the line into criminal conduct. “If the bullying is of such a serious nature that it ends up in violence or psychological or mental abuse, yes, you can open up a docket against that person.”

She added that victims may also approach the courts for harassment orders where appropriate. The awareness formed part of Douglasdale police’s Women’s Month programme, during which police officers and women from the community visited Witkoppen Primary School.

“This will be an ongoing project. It will not be a one-stop project. We will continue this because we believe these are the future leaders of our country and we need to reform them and mould them into better citizens.”

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