65.5% of Thai youth report bullying in 2025 survey

Bullying remains widespread among Thai children and young people, with a 2025 survey finding that 65.54% of 41,944 respondents aged 7-25 had experienced bullying, most commonly at school and involving their peers.

The behavioural surveillance was conducted by the Health Education Division of the Department of Health Service Support (HSS), Ministry of Public Health, together with local behavioural-surveillance networks.

Friends or peers were identified as those responsible in 73.53% of reported cases, while 83.35% of incidents occurred at school, making educational settings the most frequently reported location.

Bullying is no longer confined to face-to-face encounters at school or within friendship groups. Cyberbullying allows rumours, images and messages intended to embarrass or harass someone to spread rapidly through social media and reach a much wider audience.

Family-related teasing tops reported bullying

The five most frequently reported forms of bullying in the 2025 HSS survey were:

1. Teasing involving the names of parents or family members: 40.97%
2. Comments about appearance or personality: 37.95%
3. Unwanted physical proximity causing discomfort: 30.38%
4. Physical bullying, including kicking, hitting, punching, slapping or pushing: 28.28%
5. Treatment that made someone feel inferior, including insults or having their views dismissed: 26.27%

The survey also found significant emotional effects among those who had experienced bullying. 61.53% reported embarrassment, 54.52% anger or a desire to retaliate, and 51.38% fatigue or low energy.

HSS warned that repeated bullying can affect both physical and mental wellbeing and contribute to longer-term problems including depression, anxiety and behavioural difficulties.

The department plans to work with the Education Ministry, the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and the Department of Mental Health to address risk factors, develop behavioural programmes and increase public communication about the effects of bullying.

Earlier survey also found widespread school bullying

An earlier survey by the Network of Lawyers for Children and Youth, whose findings were published on the Department of Mental Health website in January 2020, covered 1,500 children aged 10-15 at 15 schools.

The survey found that 91.79% of respondents had experienced bullying. Hitting or slapping the head was reported by 62.07%, followed by teasing involving parents at 43.57% and insulting language at 41.78%. Other forms included gossip, verbal abuse, fighting, mocking personal characteristics and online harassment.

About 35.33% of respondents said they had been bullied around twice per school term, while 24.86% reported being bullied three or four times a week. Those responsible included friends, older students and younger students.

The survey found that 42.86% had considered retaliating, while 26.33% reported stress, 18.2% difficulty concentrating on their studies, 15.73% reluctance to attend school, 15.6% social withdrawal and 13.4% depression.

The Department of Mental Health page carrying the findings also described bullying among Thai children as ranking second globally behind Japan, a description that has subsequently appeared in Thai reporting on the issue.

International research records wide regional differences

A separate international study based on data from 167,286 adolescents across 65 countries found an overall bullying prevalence of 32.03%. Africa recorded the highest regional rate at 47.36%, followed by the Eastern Mediterranean at 41.53% and Southeast Asia at 33.19%.

Within the Southeast Asian countries included in that study, Indonesia recorded 50.14%, Sri Lanka 36%, the Maldives 32.73%, Timor-Leste 28.72%, Thailand 28.23% and Myanmar 19.51%.

The international study used a different dataset, age group and methodology from the Thai surveys and provides a broader view of how bullying prevalence varies between countries and regions.

Juvenile cases involving violence increased in 2024

Separate National Statistical Office data show that juvenile observation and protection centres handled 14,844 cases involving children and young people in 2024, up from 12,602 in 2023.

Cases classified as offences against life and the body increased from 3,023 in 2023 to 3,870 in 2024, accounting for 26.1% of all cases handled in 2024. The underlying figures came from the Department of Juvenile Observation and Protection under the Ministry of Justice.

Families and schools urged to strengthen prevention

The earlier school survey found that children wanted schools to establish clear penalties for bullying, provide teachers whom students could approach for advice and organise activities to improve understanding of the problem.

The same material identified four broad forms of bullying: physical aggression, social exclusion or pressure, verbal bullying and cyberbullying. Online bullying can spread beyond a school or friendship group, increasing the audience for humiliating or abusive material.

For families, guidance cited in the material stresses building trust so children feel able to talk about problems, watching for significant changes in behaviour and working with schools when difficulties arise.

At school level, proposals include clear procedures for dealing with bullying, confidential reporting channels, access to counselling and a culture that respects differences rather than treating harassment as normal behaviour.

At policy level, the Spring News report cited proposals for stronger protection covering bullying at school, outside school and online, together with accessible reporting and assistance channels for children and young people.

Sources: pr.moph.go.th, dmh.go.th, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, nso.go.th