Bullying is About to Get So Much Worse!

During Donald Trump's first term, bullying in schools increased dramatically. In his second term, it's almost certain to become even more pervasive.

After Trump won the 2016 election, a survey administered by the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance project revealed that “the results of the election are having a profoundly negative impact on schools and students. Ninety percent of educators report that school climate has been negatively affected, and most of them believe it will have a long-lasting impact. A full 80% describe heightened anxiety and concern on the part of students worried about the impact of the election on themselves and their families.”

Likewise, a study published in 2019 found that bullying rates among 7th and 8th grade students in Virginia school districts where voters chose Trump were 18% higher than they were in districts that chose Clinton. Similarly, the study showed that in districts where Trump won the election, students were 9% more likely to report being bullied because of their race or ethnic backgrounds.

Published in 2021, a study in the journal Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy found that “school district voting record moderated the relation between LGBTQ+ identity and bullying, such that LGBTQ+ students in more conservative districts, or districts with more votes for Donald Trump in the election, experienced more bullying, which was associated with greater psychological distress. .... In more conservative-leaning districts, LGBTQ+ students reported less teacher intervention, which was associated with more bullying and psychological distress. 

With Trump's second term only three months in, research is limited. However, we are already seeing evidence that bullying is trending upwards. For example, bullying and harassment toward women and girls have increased exponentially ever since Trump declared victory.

A report from by the nonpartisan group The Institute for Strategic Dialogue said that immediately after Trump was declared the winner of the 2024 election, there was almost "a 4,000% increase in references to misogynistic phrases. "These phrases such as "Your body, my choice" which originated from white supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuente's X account spread like wildfire across social media and quickly made their way into classrooms and school corridors. According to the report, "young girls and parents have used social media to share instances of offline harassment. They include the phrase being directed at them within schools or chanted by young boys in classes."

Students of color have also reported more racial bullying since Trump's re-election.

A Dec. 5, 2024 article in Vox reported that middle, high school and college students in 20 states received racist text messages soon after the election. For example, a 16-year-old girl in California got a message that said, she had been “selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation.” Her non-white friends received similar texts. In the coming weeks, the FBI reported that LGBTQ and Latino students received texts "threatening them with deportation or being sent to 'reeducation camps.'”

Additionally, said the Vox story, "children across the country encountered hate speech and harassment at school immediately following the election, from a racist note left in a Wyoming high school bathroom to a spate of anti-immigrant and other discriminatory incidents in a Vermont district."

This rash of post-election bullying isn't surprising. After all, Trump and his sidekicks Musk and Vance have outlawed DEI programs, attempted to whitewash American history and are defying judicial decisions and protections for immigrants, minorities, women, people with disabilities and LGBTQ individuals. History has shown that when leaders normalize bullying, citizens, including children and adolescents, feel emboldened to bully their peers.

The consequences can be dire.

As I've pointed out previously, bullying frequently leads to serious and persistent problems that can last a lifetime. According to Stopbullying.com, "the psychological effects of bullying include depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, self- harming behavior (especially for girls), alcohol and drug use and dependence, aggression, and involvement in violence or crime (especially for boys)."

Bullying not only affects victims; perpetrators and bystanders are also negatively affected. Those who are bullied and bully others are the most at risk for negative outcomes including suicidal ideation and attempts.

While bullying alone does not cause suicide, it can be a factor in a young person's decision to take their life. A 2022 study by the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health found that "sexual minority, American Indian, Alaskan Native, non-Hispanic Multiracial, and female adolescents are at highest risk for suicide attempts from bullying victimization."

The Trevor Project's 2023 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People found that "Forty-one % of LGBTQ+ young people seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, including roughly half of transgender and nonbinary youth."

In a climate where LGBTQ and especially transgender people are being vilified by the administration, we can expect that even more young people will attempt and complete suicides.

It is essential that educators, therapists, and parents stay attuned to the bullying students face. Shame and fear of retribution often keep children from speaking out about bullying. Because much of the bullying that takes place among youth happens online, where adults may not see it, it is more critical than ever that adults ask children about bullying and let them know that they will be protected and are valued regardless of the messages they are getting from fellow students and from the president and his followers.