Can I sue the parents of my child’s bully?

My child has been repeatedly bullied at school and I have made several reports, but not much has changed. The school has suspended the offender a few times, but they always return with the same behaviour. This started in grade two and my child is in grade four. At first it was physical, but after the suspensions, it changed to being more verbal and harassment via video game chats. What legal steps can I take, possibly against the parents?

Thank you for your letter, which creates an opportunity for all parents to contemplate as a New Year’s resolution, doing all in their power to ensure that their child behaves with decency and courtesy when dealing with every other child; and all adults to play their part fearlessly to ensure that all schools — that is to say, their school boards and their teachers — ensure that their school environment is free of all forms of bullying conduct, and that all reports of any incident are dealt with expeditiously, comprehensively and effectively, so as to ensure non-repetitive conduct by any offender and to provide a safe environment for any victim after an incident is reported.

Since there is no “anti-bullying in schools” legislation in Jamaica, schools must ensure that all parents and pupils are provided with printed copies of the State policies and the procedures in place for the protection of all children (and teachers) in each school, and the names and contacts of the school’s personnel who are the responsible officers to receive and deal with all reports. All relevant persons, and pupils as age enables understanding, must be made aware of all these, and full understanding of them must be ensured.

Let me then point you to what really exists for safety in schools and freedom from bullying, which aims to create a fear-free environment in all schools in Jamaica.

* The first is the Ministry of Education Guidelines, which direct schools to ensure awareness, to document reports of incidents, to provide effective support for victims and offenders, and, when matters are being dealt with in the criminal courts, for schools to involve the participation of school resource officers in handling the cases.

* The next is National Anti-Bullying Day, which was established by the government by proclamation to be observed on the 7th day of October 2025 and on the same day each year, so as to promote national action, kindness, prompt action and community involvement in preventing and eradicating bullying in all schools. The first was celebrated in 2025.

* The next to bring to your attention, and that of the public, is the 2015 Revised Safety and Security Manual, which includes specific strategies for dealing with bullying and how to reinforce a whole-school approach. It updates the 2008 policy to deal effectively with changes in violent conduct and behaviour patterns, so as to ensure the right of all children to have a secure, safe and caring learning environment. It also includes the need for all reports of bullying to be documented, the data retained, and the steps that must be taken to treat both victims and offenders whenever an incident of bullying is reported.

* The next is the School-Wide Positive Behaviour Intervention and Support (SWPBIS), which is a UNICEF-supported framework to reduce violent behaviours in all schools, so that positive, predictable and safe school environments can be created through proactively teaching, defining and supporting good student behaviours, and using a multi-tiered system (universal, targeted, intensive) to ensure improvement in academic, social, emotional and behavioural outcomes for all students through the use of data-driven, evidence-based practices.

It is a three-tiered system: to provide universal support for all (Tier 1); to target and identify help for groups (Tier 2); and to provide intensive, individualised support for a few who need this (Tier 3).

It is impossible for me to give greater details of all the policies, manuals, proclamations and the celebration of National Anti-Bullying Day, but let me add that these are all in line with the Child Care and Protection Act which was passed in 2004 and imposed a responsibility on all adult citizens to report any suspected or actual child abuse, abandonment and neglect. Remember that bullying is abuse of the victim. So, although there is no specific Act of Parliament which addresses “bullying”, one can say that there are legal measures and, through policies, the manual and the national day, ample proactive resources for the protection of children from bullying. There is also the Child Development Agency, which is now within the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), which deals not only with care provisions but also investigates reports of abuse committed against children and ensures that matters are taken through the legal frameworks which exist to deal with them.

Finally, since you wish to know about legal steps you can take against the parents of the bully who has been plaguing your child, let me say this clearly: you ought to go to the CPFSA on Duke Street if you are in Kingston, or to the offices in other cities in Jamaica, to report the matter, as the child has not stopped but has merely changed his/her tactics of abuse, despite the suspensions from school inflicted on the perpetrator. The school’s actions have clearly failed, and the parents seem incapable of dealing with their child’s offensive conduct and actions. Surely it is not the parents alone who have failed. The teachers and school administration also have duties of care, prevention and protection, and under the Act are required to report incidents of abuse to the CPFSA.

You may also need to speak with the Ministry of Education about the school’s failure, or take legal action against the school and the parents. In my view, legal action cannot be taken only against the parents of the bullying child. The CPFSA is the agency you should report to, as the Act requires of all adult citizens, and you as a parent surely top that list.

So my advice to you is to put aside legal steps against the child’s parents for now and go straightaway to the CPFSA to give a full report to the Children’s Registry there about the bullying suffered by your child, and the unsuccessful suspensions by the school, which merely caused a change in the tactics of bullying rather than stopping it. They are legally responsible for acting on your child’s behalf to ensure protection and a safe school environment for your child. They must also address the needs of the child bully, who clearly has a behavioural or psychological problem that must be diagnosed and addressed.

I hope I have clarified the position for you and trust that you will act quickly by reporting the matter to the CPFSA, so that they can address it as quickly as possible, as they are legally obligated to do.

Margarette May Macaulay is an attorney-at-law, Supreme Court mediator, notary public, and women’s and children’s rights advocate. Send questions via e-mail to allwoman@jamaicaobserver.com; or write to All Woman, 40-42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5. All responses are published. Mrs Macaulay cannot provide private, personal responses.