At Remitly, we’re invested in ensuring you and your family are as prepared as possible for life in another country. If you’re moving to the UAE, your children will be integrating into a new school environment—and a completely new way of life.
Getting involved in a new school is a fun experience, especially if everything goes smoothly. But while you have some influence over your child’s behaviour, you can’t always predict that of other children. Unfortunately, school bullying is far too common. Knowing how to spot it and what to do if it’s happening is a great way to support your child.
In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about school bullying in the UAE. We’ll cover the legal framework put in place to protect children, school-specific policies, and what procedures to follow if you think someone is being bullied at school.
Understanding bullying
Bullying is the repetitive, intentional hurting of one person by someone else or a group of other people.
Typically, bullying involves an imbalance of power. In school settings, the power dynamics at play between children are often social: students who have influence over their peers might bully a classmate with less social power or popularity. However, hierarchies might also revolve around age, majority groups, or physical characteristics.
Types of bullying
School policies in the UAE proactively respond to bullying, which can take on many different forms:
- Physical bullying: This type of bullying involves physical interaction between students. It can be mild, from poking or pushing, to extreme, like hitting, biting, or kicking.
- Verbal bullying: Involves hurting someone with your words and can manifest as name-calling, sarcasm, spreading rumours, or threats.
- Social bullying: This type of bullying happens in person. It can include purposefully isolating, tormenting, threatening, humiliating, intimidating, or manipulating someone else.
- Cyberbullying: Digital bullying happens online and uses tools like social media and text messaging to exclude, ridicule, threaten, or humiliate.
- Sexual bullying: Sexual bullying includes unwanted physical contact, inappropriate touching, abusive comments, homophobic abuse, or exposure to inappropriate content.
- Indirect bullying: This refers to the exploitation of an individual, often without their knowledge.
School bullying in the UAE
School bullying statistics from the UAE show that bullying has always been a challenge. A study from 2024 found that about 37% of students around the country experienced bullying of some type. Instances of bullying have been on the rise, despite anti-bullying policies being implemented.
Of course, bullying has immediate adverse psychological effects. In addition, students who are bullied often suffer long-term emotional and academic challenges. Bullying is linked to feelings of sadness and loneliness, learning difficulties, and increased absenteeism at school.
The threat of bullying doesn’t stop when your children come home from school. As we become more connected through social media and other digital technologies, the rate of cyberbullying has been growing rapidly across the world. Unfortunately, this means children may experience the humiliation, exclusion, or self-doubt caused by this phenomenon no matter where they are.
Cultural factors that influence bullying
The UAE has a large immigrant population. In fact, there is a strong expatriate majority, with only about 10% of the population being Emirati nationals.
This mix of cultures and backgrounds creates a beautiful melting pot in the country, but it can also form power dynamics that might contribute to bullying. Majority groups often have social power over the minority—whether through race, religion, native language, socioeconomic status, gender, or sexual orientation.
Generally, school bullying in the UAE follows some specific patterns:
- Students in private schools are more likely to experience bullying than those in public schools.
- Cyberbullying is also more prevalent in private schools.
- Physical bullying is more common than verbal bullying.
- Physical bullying is more common among male students than female students.
- The most common place for school bullying to occur is within classrooms.
- Parents are often more aware of bullying than teachers and school staff.
UAE’s commitment to preventing bullying
The UAE has recognised school bullying as a serious public health issue. As a result, officials have taken significant steps to help educate students, parents, and school staff about its effects and prevention. Some of these anti-bullying initiatives are funded by the government, while others are implemented at the school level.
UAE laws and regulations on school bullying
Multiple protections exist for children who experience bullying. In general, action starts with the school before elevating to formal legal processes if necessary. Here are the laws, regulations, and policies you need to know regarding school bullying in the UAE.
The Ministry of Education (MoE)
The UAE Ministry of Education (MoE) oversees all levels of education, including schools, colleges, universities, and postgraduate programmes. It established the Student Conduct Disciplinary Bylaw in 2011 to help create academic environments where children can succeed mentally, emotionally, and academically. This code of conduct outlines how students should behave in school. It also provides clear guidelines for penalties if they do not follow expectations.
Child protection laws and bullying
Beyond the MoE’s educational umbrella, several child protection laws protect students from bullying. Below are a few relevant federal laws and policies:
- Federal Law No. 3 of 2016: Also known as “Wadeema’s Law,” this statute ensures children’s rights and well-being. It also protects them from harm and neglect while creating a legal imperative for children’s access to services like education and healthcare.
- Federal Decree Law No. 18 of 2020: This law applies to private education settings and aims to regulate the learning process, including an obligation for private schools to follow the MoE code of conduct. It was clarified by amendments in 2023.
- Federal Decree Law No. 34 of 2021: This law aims to address the misuse of online technologies by protecting individuals against cybercrimes. Cyberbullying, extortion attempts, or rumours spread digitally attract steep penalties.
Other anti-bullying initiatives
In addition to these federal laws, the Supreme Council for Motherhood & Childhood collaborated with UNICEF in 2020. This anti-bullying exercise hoped to foster safer learning environments for all children by preventing bullying and providing intervention strategies. The programme was implemented in 64 UAE schools and included training for teachers and school professionals.
School policies and prevention programs
The best way to combat bullying is to prevent it from happening in the first place. This requires a strong school community effort, where students, families, teachers, and staff all work together toward a common goal.
National Bullying Prevention Week
In 2018, the MoE launched National Bullying Prevention Week to raise awareness about school bullying in the UAE. The annual campaign is a partnership between the Supreme Council for Motherhood & Childhood and local as well as federal entities.
During this week, trained educators and consultants visit public and private schools to provide education about bullying and how to prevent it. Students are advised on how to act or respond if they are being bullied, or if they witness bullying at school, home, or anywhere else.
Public vs. private schools
Bullying is a common challenge in UAE schools. According to federal law, both public and private institutions must follow the MoE’s code of conduct. Educating your child about bullying, how to prevent it, and what to do if they experience or witness it will also be helpful, no matter what type of school they attend.
Adult intervention
Children depend on adults to help keep them safe. At school, this could be a teacher, counsellor, or administrator. Regardless of title, it’s imperative that your child have access to a trusted adult who they can talk to if they have concerns about their health and safety, or that of others.
Reporting and handling bullying incidents
Making a report
School bullying incidents should be dealt with as soon as possible. You can report bullying directly to the Child Protection Unit of the Ministry of Education by calling 80085.
Additionally, you can contact teachers and school administrators directly. It generally isn’t a good idea to reach out to the parents or family of a school bully.
School investigation
When you report bullying, the incident will be investigated based on the school’s Anti-Bullying Policy. Often, this involves staff meetings with the parents and guardians of the students involved to work out a plan that brings about behaviour change.
Potential consequences
In the UAE, the Addressing Bullying in Schools training manual outlines methods of intervention and potential consequences for bullies, which can come in various forms:
- Direct sanctions: These consequences are the most traditional way to dissuade students from bullying. They involve providing a negative response to negative behaviour through verbal reprimands, meetings with parents, removals from class, or the withdrawal of privileges.
- Restorative practice: This is usually a supervised interaction which involves the bully listening to the effects of their actions from the victim’s perspective. The goal of restorative practice is that the offending student reflects on the impact of their behavior.
- Mediation: Mediation is similar to restorative practice in that it facilitates interaction between the bully and the victim. However, it is more equal and invites both parties to share their perspectives under the guidance of a mediator.
- The Support Group Method: The group intervention method is helpful when more than one student is involved in bullying. The goal is to offer victimised students support while gaining an accurate picture of what is happening. It can also include witnesses or bystanders.
- The Method of Shared Concern: Also referred to as the Pikas method, this encourages creating space for individual and group conversations with students involved in bullying.
To better understand how your child’s school handles bullying, refer to their official handbook and code of conduct, or have a conversation with teachers and administrators.
Dealing with the fallout: support for victims
In addition to ensuring that the bullying is addressed at school, you can support your child outside of school as well:
- Seek therapy or counselling support.
- Encourage your child’s hobbies or interests.
- Sign your child up for activities outside of school.
- Model respect for your child in how you interact with others.
The role of parents in preventing bullying
The UAE government has developed a guide for parents to help prevent bullying. That’s because parents are often the first line of defence against bullying. You know your child better than anyone else, so familiarising yourself with the signs can help you keep them safe.
Identify the signs of bullying
The signs of a child being bullied can be varied. Keep an eye out for unexplained behaviour changes, including the following:
- Unidentified physical marks, like bruises, scratches, broken bones, and healing wounds
- Fear of school or school-related events
- Being anxious, nervous, or overly vigilant
- Having few or no friends in school or outside of school
- Avoiding social situations
- Personal belongings being lost or destroyed
- Low or changed academic performance
- Frequent requests for money
- Absenteeism
- Trying to stay near adults
- Not sleeping well, nightmares, or incidents of bedwetting
- Becoming secretive or private
- Becoming aggressive or having outbursts
Communicating with kids
Talking with your kids about bullying can be really hard, but it is easier if you already have an established relationship of trust with them. Ask them about their interests and share things about yourself to keep an open line of communication.
Be an active listener when your child is speaking. Indicate with body language that you are paying attention, like making eye contact and asking follow-up questions. Schedule regular one-on-one time, so that the opportunity to have meaningful conversations is planned into your day.
Also, ensure that your child knows you’re there for them even if they need help with something difficult. Encourage them to confide in other trusted adults, too, to create a reliable network of support.
Encourage digital safety
Social media and text messaging have made bullying an issue beyond the classroom. To tackle this new challenge, be sure to encourage safe online behaviour in your child. You might also consider using technology, like parental controls and timers, to limit your child’s activity online.
Inform yourself
Sometimes, you may have to intervene in a school bullying situation related to your child or others. Inform yourself to stay prepared by becoming familiar with school-specific rules, the MoE code of conduct, and federal laws that protect your child. Also, learn about additional resources available in case you have to escalate the issue to the school district or local law enforcement.
Partner with schools to prevent bullying
Bullying can be a difficult issue to tackle alone. Get involved at your child’s school by developing relationships with their teachers, meeting with administrators, and joining parent interest groups to stop bullying before it begins.
FAQs
What are the main laws governing school bullying in the UAE?
Several legal statutes protect children in the UAE from bullying, including Federal Law No. 3, Federal Decree Law No. 18, and Federal Decree Law No. 34, which tackles cyberbullying.
How can students report bullying in UAE schools?
If you believe your child or another student is being bullied, report the issue to the Child Protection Unit of the Ministry of Education by calling 80085.
What support is available to students who experience bullying?
Ask your school what internal support is available for students who experience bullying. School counsellors and peer mediators are often on hand to help victimised students. You may also consider outside support for your child if they are experiencing bullying, or consider legal action in severe cases.