How many young people are victims of bullying?
In 2024, 24 percent of studentsnoot1 on Saba and 22 percent on Bonaire (aged younger than 18 years) in secondary education (VO) and secondary vocational education (MBO) had been bullied at some point in the past twelve months. On St Eustatius the corresponding figure was 14 percent. Most bullying occurs in an offline context, and it mainly takes the form of spreading gossip on Bonaire and Saba, and name-calling and verbal abuse on St Eustatius.
Girls are bullied more often than boys on average, across all the islands. This difference is largest on Saba and Bonaire. On Saba 31 percent of girls and 17 percent of boys were bullied. On Bonaire the corresponding figures were 26 and 18 percent and on St Eustatius 16 and 12 percent, respectively.
Four years earlier, in 2020, the percentage of students bullied on Saba and Bonaire was similar, namely 22 percent and 20 percent respectively. At the time, however, there was no difference between the figures for boys and girls on Saba. No comparison over time is possible in the figures for St Eustatius.
| Total | Boys | Girls | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | 22.2 | 18.5 | 26.0 |
| Saba | 24.0 | 17.0 | 30.6 |
| St Eustatius | 13.7 | 11.6 | 16.2 |
Young people who are bullied are less happy and less satisfied with their lives
Young people were also asked to rate their happiness and life satisfaction on a scale between 1 and 10. On Saba, they gave an average score of 7.4 for both their happiness and satisfaction in 2024. Young people on Bonaire gave a score of 7.5 for happiness and a 7.4 for life satisfaction, and on St Eustatius the corresponding figures were 7.1 and 6.9.
On average, young people who had been bullied in the past twelve months gave lower scores for their well-being than young people who had not experienced bullying. This difference is particularly noticeable on Bonaire and St Eustatius.
On Saba there were hardly any differences in happiness and life satisfaction between young people who had been bullied and those who had not.
| Group | Category | Total | Bullied | Not bullied |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | Happiness, Bonaire | 7.5 | 6.9 | 7.8 |
| Bonaire | Satisfaction, Bonaire | 7.4 | 6.8 | 7.7 |
| Saba | Happiness, Saba | 7.4 | 7.4 | 7.5 |
| Saba | Satisfaction, Saba | 7.4 | 7.6 | 7.4 |
| St Eustatius | Happiness, St Eustatius | 7.1 | 5.7 | 7.5 |
| St Eustatius | Satisfaction, St Eustatius | 6.9 | 5.9 | 7.2 |
Not all students are able to confide in someone regarding personal issues
It is important for young people’s well-being that they are able to talk to someone about their personal problems. In 2024, 69 percent of students on Bonaire said they were able to talk about personal problems with someone they trust.
On Saba the corresponding figure was 57 percent and on St Eustatius 54 percent. On average, across all the islands, young people who are being bullied are less likely to confide in someone they trust than those who are not being bullied.
In 2020, too, young people on Bonaire and Saba who were being bullied were less likely to be able to talk to someone they trust about their personal problems than young people who were not being bullied. Young people on both islands who were being bullied were also less happy and satisfied with their lives than those who were not being bullied.
| Total | Bullied | Not bullied | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | 68.6 | 61.6 | 73.2 |
| Saba | 57.3 | 56.5 | 60.0 |
| St Eustatius | 53.7 | 40.9 | 58.1 |
Source
More data on bullying among young people
Relevant Websites
Series – Caribbean Netherlands
News item – More girls bullied than boys, particularly on Bonaire and Saba
Noten
Students
All the young people surveyed were in secondary education or secondary vocational education and younger than 18 years.