I suffered of bullying during my childhood. As a very sensitive person, it has had a lot of consequences in recent years, and even today some of my actions still have links to my harassment. I was suffered of social phobic after these events, i hated myself so much, all my self-esteem was destroyed by these kids.
Today i have learned to love myself, but I always had social difficulties, some stress when i am in public.
The most unfair is to think that they had no punishment, and they have all forgotten the year after. This was just a game for them, when it has finished, they didn't care anymore. While me, I had to do a psychological reconstruction for years.
I think children are misunderstood; they are not as innocent as we think they are. They have natural reflexes and mechanism, like the group strategy. In the case of a bullying, there is often an alpha who builds self-esteem by crushing others. Maybe it has a connection to what he's experiencing at home. The others, wanting to please the most popular, and above all, being afraid to find himself in the place of the harassed, participates in the game. And it's a real vicious circle.
I think we should organize empathy classes at school. Teach children to respect each other, to accept and understand each other's differences. As a very empathetic person, I often feel out of touch with others. I find very few people who really have empathy. This is a huge gap in our society, yet an extremely vital element, that could prevent many conflicts.