BULLYING AND YOUTH SUICIDE - Cristina Di Silvio & Alessandro Numini - ETHICA SOCIETAS-Rivista di scienze umane e sociali

Legal, Social, and Cultural Profiles Between Criminal Law, Educational Responsibility, and Collective Prevention

Abstract: Bullying and cyberbullying are no longer phenomena confined to schools: they live within social fabrics, digital media, and peer relationships. Their consequences can be severe, sometimes resulting in the tragic loss of young lives. In this in-depth analysis, Cristina Di Silvio and lawyer Alessandro Numini reflect together on the legal, social, psychological, and philosophical implications of these phenomena, referencing Italian law, the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Cassation, international conventions on the rights of children, and a cultural vision that places prevention at the heart of collective responsibility.

Keywords: #Bullying #Cyberbullying #YouthSuicide #ChildrensRights #CriminalLaw #CourtOfCassationCaseLaw #Prevention #EducationalResponsibility #DigitalMedia #PeerRelationships #YouthViolence #ChildProtection #CristinaDiSilvio #AlessandroNumini #EthicaSocietas #EthicaSocietasMagazine #ScientificJournal #SocialSciences #HumanSciences #ethicasocietasupli

versione italiana

A Global Phenomenon of Invisible Wounds

Bullying is not an isolated phenomenon nor a story that only concerns schools. In recent years, it has taken on a global and cross-cutting dimension, fueled by the pervasiveness of digital technologies, the commodification of social relationships, and a profound cultural crisis in the collective ability to recognize others as individuals with rights and dignity. When we talk about bullying, we mean a set of repeated and intentional behaviors such as ridicule, exclusion, threats, gossip, and humiliation aimed at isolating and hurting the victim. Cyberbullying, the digital variant of the phenomenon, amplifies these behaviors, enabling offensive content to spread via social networks, messaging apps, videos, and images that follow the victim everywhere, turning humiliation into a “permanent spectacle” that is always visible and difficult to erase. In this scenario, the victim has no refuge: the humiliation follows them 24/7. This aspect makes cyberbullying particularly insidious and different from traditional bullying because it produces harm that is not confined to the moment of the aggression but persists in the digital memory and the young person’s psyche. Youth suicide, when it emerges as the tragic outcome of these dynamics, cannot be understood merely through statistics or as isolated cases. It represents a deep wound in the collective conscience: a failure of relationships and a warning sign of a community that has not listened or protected its members.

Bullying and the Law: Criminal Tools and the Limits of Repression

In Italy, as lawyer Alessandro Numini explains, there is no autonomous crime of “bullying,” but many typical behaviors can be framed within existing criminal provisions. This is not a limitation of the law; rather, it acknowledges that repeated and systematic harm to others can already be legally punished. Key applicable provisions include stalking (art. 612‑bis c.p.), personal injury (art. 582 c.p.), defamation (art. 595 c.p.), threats (art. 612 c.p.), extortion (art. 629 c.p.), and in the most extreme cases, instigation or aiding suicide (art. 580 c.p.). The Supreme Court of Cassation has repeatedly addressed these issues, clarifying that the legal relevance of conduct derives not only from single acts but from a series of repeated behaviors over time causing serious psychological harm to the victim. For example, Cassation ruling n. 24203/2018 affirmed that repeated humiliation and abuse can constitute stalking when they create a severe and persistent state of anxiety in the victim, recognizing moral suffering, loss of serenity, reduced social interaction, and prolonged isolation as legally significant factors. In terms of instigation to suicide, Cassation ruling n. 30319/2020 highlighted that the perpetrator’s actions must have exerted a decisive or reinforcing effect on the extreme act, considering the intensity of psychological pressure and the predictability of the outcome.

Italian Legal Measures for Prevention

In recent years, Italian lawmakers have sought to address this legal gap with preventive and educational interventions. Law n. 71 of May 29, 2017, focused on combating cyberbullying, was a first step, introducing protective measures for minors and obliging schools to adopt codes of conduct and educational plans. More recently, Law n. 70 of May 17, 2024, expanded the framework further, explicitly recognizing bullying and cyberbullying as harmful phenomena, promoting prevention, awareness, monitoring, and psychological support in schools, and encouraging teacher training to identify warning signs and intervene promptly. These legislative innovations acknowledge that peer violence cannot be addressed solely through punishment but requires building a relational culture based on listening, mutual respect, and promotion of psychological well-being.

The International Human Rights Framework

Bullying is not just an Italian problem; it is recognized as a violation of fundamental human rights worldwide. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), ratified by Italy in 1991, obliges States to adopt legislative, administrative, and social measures to protect children from all forms of abuse, violence, and exploitation, affirming their right to survival, development, protection, and participation. International organizations like UNESCO and UNICEF have repeatedly stressed that bullying and school violence violate children’s rights to education, health, and psychological well-being. The United Nations has established the “International Day against Violence and Bullying at School, including Cyberbullying,” emphasizing the need for global and coordinated prevention efforts. While not legally binding in all aspects, these instruments impose moral and political obligations on States to prioritize the protection of minors and foster safe and welcoming environments for all youth.

The Digital Dimension: Violence 2.0

The digital revolution has profoundly transformed bullying dynamics. Cyberbullying is not simply an “online version” of traditional bullying but a phenomenon with distinct characteristics: content virality, difficulty in control and removal, continuous accessibility, and an audience that can be virtually unlimited. For young people, being humiliated online means exposure to a broad, unknown, and unpredictable community. Images and words can be shared, commented on, and persist indefinitely in digital memory. Psychological damage becomes a wound that reopens continuously every time content is seen or remembered. Criminal jurisprudence is gradually adapting to this new reality, but platform regulation, operator responsibility, and preventive protection of young victims remain open challenges requiring coherent legislative and public policy responses.

Psychological and Social Consequences: The Invisible Suffering

Bullying and cyberbullying do not only leave visible wounds: the deepest damage is often psychological and invisible. Anxiety, depression, isolation, loss of self-esteem, and shame are among the most common outcomes for victims. When these conditions persist, they can evolve into self-harm or suicide. Numerous international studies, from Canada to the United States, Australia, and Europe, highlight the correlation between victimization from bullying and suicidal ideation in youth, emphasizing the need for timely mental health and educational interventions.

Educational Responsibility: Beyond the Law

While criminal law can punish and civil law provide protections, preventing bullying requires something deeper: a culture of care, listening, and collective responsibility. Numini emphasizes that criminal law is an ultima ratio, but prevention demands a cultural shift in the dynamics that allow violence to thrive. Families, schools, communities, and cultural or religious institutions must educate young people to recognize dignity in others. This responsibility cannot be delegated solely to adults. Youth themselves must be involved as agents of change, not only as potential victims or aggressors but as citizens capable of building respectful relationships. Digital citizenship education becomes essential: not merely technical rules for using social platforms, but teaching ethical values, awareness of consequences, respect for others’ privacy, listening, empathy, and communal responsibility.

Philosophy, Social Responsibility, and Human Care

From a philosophical perspective, bullying is not only a matter of deviant behavior but a symptom of a cultural model that values appearance, competition, performance, and superiority over human dignity, solidarity, and care for others. Bullying and cyberbullying deny the recognition of others as ends, not means. Those who ridicule, exclude, or persecute seek power, social validation, and self-esteem at the expense of others. A just society does not merely punish transgressors but educates in shared responsibility, teaching that true strength lies not in domination, but in protection.

A Collective Challenge

Bullying, cyberbullying, and youth suicide are not isolated emergencies: they are deep wounds in the social fabric, requiring integrated, human, cultural, pedagogical, and legal responses. Law can punish, but only a culture of responsibility, care, education, and ethical formation can effectively prevent these tragedies. As Numini and I repeatedly emphasize, prevention is not solely the task of institutions: it is the responsibility of each of us as citizens, educators, and community members. Only then can we protect new generations and ensure that no young person feels alone, invisible, or hopeless.