Bullying is a subject matter that should not be ignored, but rather should be addressed head-on. Each state in America addresses bullying in a different manner in order to teach a hard lesson to those involved. In some cases, bullying, together with other related behaviors such as cyber bullying, are addressed in a single or multiple laws. There are also situations wherein bullying is part of a criminal code that may apply to the youth and criminal charges can be made. At present, no specific federal law has been applied to bullying. Among the reported cases of bullying because of color, race, sex, disability, religion, or natural origin, it overlaps with harassment cases and schools are given the legal authority required to address the situation at hand.

With increasing incidents of bullying, especially reported cases of deaths caused and initiated by bullying, certain steps should be done accordingly to protect your child from being a bullied victim. However, in dealing with such bullying cases, a big question always pops up the moment authorities come face-to-face with the bully and the victim.

Can the bully be considered a criminal for his actions towards the victim? Is scolding good enough to stop it from happening again? Should the accused child be arrested if the victim commits suicide after a bullying incident? Should bullying be considered a crime, after all?