Speaker
Description
Bullying can take direct or indirect forms, and can involve targeting a person’s belongings by stealing, hiding, damaging, or destroying them (e.g. UNESCO, 2020). In previous research, this form of bullying has been categorised as both direct and indirect (e.g. Maunder et al., 2010; Rodríguez et al., 2008). While recognised as common and often included in surveys on bullying prevalence (e.g. Thornton et al., 2024), there has been little detailed exploration of how this form of bullying is experienced.
This study addresses this knowledge gap by examining the narratives of seven individuals from Sweden and Finland who encountered this type of bullying at school. These narratives are part of a larger dataset consisting of 518 first-person written accounts of bullying. The narratives were analysed using theoretical thematic analysis, drawing on the concepts of performativity (Butler, 1990) and posthuman performativity (Barad, 2007), and focusing on ‘small stories’ that illustrate bullying directed at belongings.
The results highlight that those targeted often experienced heightened alertness and a need to be constantly vigilant to ensure the safety of their belongings, and that this restricted their autonomy by limiting their freedom and sense of security. Additionally, using their personal items to bullying them served to not only impact their self-esteem, but also their identity, as the belongings became extended victims in the bullying situations.
The findings underscore the need for educators to recognise the severity of property-related bullying, and to understand how such actions can profoundly affect an individual’s sense of security and belonging.
Keywords
Indirect physical bullying, belongings, performativity, narrative
| Please also indicate what kind of contribution it is: | Scientific |
|---|---|
| Please indicate what type of scientific contribution it is | Qualitative method study |
