ASTANA – The Children’s Day, marked on June 1, reminds us that a child’s right to safety, dignity, and emotional support should be upheld every day. In Kazakhstan, where concerns over bullying in schools have become increasingly urgent, a wave of new national programs and international partnerships is yielding encouraging results.
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Experts, educators, and advocates agree: tackling bullying requires understanding both the wounds of the victims and the pain often hidden behind the aggressor’s behavior.
There are approximately 6.9 million children in Kazakhstan, a country with a population of more than 20 million.
What is bullying?
UNICEF, the UN Children’s Fund, defines bullying, whether in person or online, as a repeated, intentional act rooted in power imbalance, with severe emotional and psychological consequences.
“Once children enter school, friendships and interactions with peers take on an increasingly important role in their lives. These relationships have the potential to contribute to a child’s sense of well-being and to social competence, but they are also associated with exposure to new forms of victimization,” reads the statement on the official website. Bullying by schoolmates remains the most common among peer violence forms.
In Kazakhstan, at least 16% of students aged 13–15 years reported being bullied on one or more days in the past 30 days as of July 2024, according to the UNICEF, based on Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Study (HBSC), Global School-based Student Health Surveys (GSHS) and other national surveys.
National efforts
Efforts to combat school bullying in Kazakhstan are beginning to show progress. According to Children’s Rights Ombudsperson Dinara Zakiyeva, two key pilot programs, KiVa and Dosbol LIKE, are transforming school climates nationwide.
The KiVa program, originally developed in Finland and used in countries such as the United Kingdom and Japan, is currently being piloted in 110 schools in Kazakhstan. Adapted for local cultural contexts, the program uses games, testing, and role analysis to help students recognize bullying dynamics and respond effectively.
Dinara Zakiyeva. Photo credit: The Astana Times
“We are already seeing an increase in students’ awareness of what bullying is, what forms it takes, and how to respond to it correctly. Teachers also say that children have started speaking up more often and are asking for help,” Zakiyeva told The Astana Times.
The Dosbol LIKE program, developed in Kazakhstan, is being tested in 50 schools across nine regions. It offers a holistic approach, including training for over 1,000 educators, active parental involvement, and the establishment of anti-bullying teams.
“The first results show a decrease in the number of both aggressors and victims. Children are more active, speak openly about bullying, and are no longer afraid to ask for support,” Zakiyeva said.
Children’s psychological support centers have been established in every region to further strengthen psychological safety in schools. These centers collaborate with school psychologists to detect early signs of bullying, violence, and even suicidal ideation.
Kazakhstan has also introduced QR codes linked to the 111 helpline, enabling students to report concerns anonymously. The 111 service received 73,000 SMS messages via QR codes in recent months. Over the past four months, 264 children received psychological support and 25 potential suicides were prevented, official data indicates.
Building values through education
Kazakhstan is implementing the Adal Azamat (honest citizen in Kazakh) program to promote values such as responsibility, respect, and peaceful interaction. Through classroom discussions and school-wide projects, it aims to create a respectful and inclusive learning environment.
“The goal is to help each child become a worthy citizen of the country by developing values like patriotism, hard work, justice, and peaceful coexistence,” Zakiyeva explained.
UNICEF: positive parenting as prevention
UNICEF emphasizes the importance of open communication, positive role modeling, and parental involvement, both offline and online, as key to prevention and intervention. The organization has played a crucial role in promoting positive parenting as a means of preventing aggression.
In 2019, it launched public campaigns and created accessible digital resources organized by age group with the government.
“We also work directly with parents, conducting training sessions and offering expert support to integrate parenting programs into education and healthcare systems,” UNICEF said in a comment for this story.
These programs also address child safety in the online environment, emphasizing the importance of digital awareness as part of modern parenting.
A global perspective on bullying
Kazakhstan’s national efforts to address school violence and aggression reflect a wider international challenge.
According to the 2019 joint UNESCO and UNICEF report titled Behind the Numbers: Ending School Violence and Bullying, nearly one in three students aged 13 to 15 worldwide report having been bullied in the past month, an estimated 150 million adolescents globally.
The report highlights the serious consequences of such experiences, noting that students who face peer aggression are at a higher risk of developing anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem and tend to perform worse academically. It further points out that these students often struggle with school attendance and have an increased likelihood of dropping out.
Certain groups are particularly vulnerable. Children with disabilities, those from minority or marginalized communities, and LGBTQ+ youth face a greater risk of victimization.
The report also observes clear gender patterns: boys are more frequently subjected to physical forms of aggression, while girls tend to experience social exclusion and verbal abuse more often.
An emerging concern is online bullying. While less common than face-to-face incidents, cyberbullying is on the rise, especially among adolescents with access to digital technology. Its persistent and public nature can intensify psychological harm, extending beyond school grounds into personal and virtual spaces.
Effective responses, the report emphasizes, require comprehensive approaches. These include clear legislation, well-trained teachers, active student participation, and accessible reporting mechanisms. Integrating social-emotional learning and fostering inclusive, supportive school environments are also identified as critical components in reducing violence and creating safer educational settings.
Supporting victims: hear, believe, protect
Vika Smirnova, a children’s author and documentary filmmaker
According to Vika Smirnova, a children’s author and documentary filmmaker, the first and most crucial step in helping a child who has faced bullying is to listen. She emphasized the need to normalize all of the child’s feelings, to be on their side, and to help them feel safe.
“Protect them from the aggressor, speak to teachers, and even change schools if needed,” she said.
She stressed the importance of building a sense of trust. Making children feel heard and supported is crucial.
“You cannot protect a child from everything in the world, but you can be someone they turn to when they need help,” she noted.
Experts also agree on the importance for parents to show a positive role model by treating people around them with kindness and respect.
Understanding the aggressor: a child in pain
Smirnova emphasized that aggressors are often children dealing with deep emotional pain, frequently coming from homes marked by punishment, neglect, or emotional detachment.
“Aggression is often a protective shell. The child may have learned to suppress vulnerable emotions like compassion or the instinct to help others in pain because it felt too painful or unsafe to express them. These deeply buried feelings are difficult to reach, but they are there,” she explained.
The real solution, she said, lies not in punishment but in rebuilding emotional bonds, especially with parents or trusted adults.
“It is about creating a caring and accepting environment where it is safe to feel, and where there is no need to hurt anyone,” she said.
A psychological perspective on healing
Psychotherapist and clinical neuropsychologist Valentina Mukhanova-Biryukova agreed that bullying is a widespread problem with serious consequences for victims, aggressors, and bystanders alike.
Valentina Mukhanova-Biryukova, a psychotherapist and clinical neuropsychologist
She encourages parents to be observant of warning signs, such as unexplained bruises, sleep problems, missing items, and to open calm, supportive conversations when something feels wrong.
“Tell the child you are on their side. Reassure them that bullying is never their fault,” she said.
She also suggests age-appropriate methods, such as drawing or role-playing, to help younger children express their emotions. She also added that when the victim is a teenager, the conversation should be led by a family member the teen trusts most. She emphasized the importance of avoiding threats and manipulation and recommended seeking professional help.
When it comes to aggressors, Mukhanova-Biryukova explained that their behavior often stems from a desire for control or a sense of belonging. Underlying causes can include family dysfunction, low self-esteem, poor academic performance, peer pressure, and even the influence of media, where violence is sometimes portrayed as heroic.
“Tell your child that you love them no matter what. If you have hurt them, acknowledge it and apologize,” she said.
She recommends giving children structured responsibility, helping them find non-violent outlets, and teaching them other ways to influence and succeed.
A shared responsibility
Bullying is not a problem to be solved by schools alone. It reflects the emotional climate in homes, classrooms, and communities. Kazakhstan’s growing efforts, from institutional reforms to parenting programs, signal a serious shift in how the nation views child well-being.
“As you know, children are the flowers of life,” said Mukhanova-Biryukova. “It is not them that should be raised, but ourselves. And we just need to love them.”
Children are not born cruel. They become that way when adults fail to notice their pain. Recognizing every child’s need for love, safety, and connection is the first step toward ending the cycle of bullying and building a more compassionate future.
