In the grade ahead of me, there were several bullies – all of whom who were sufficiently mentally disturbed that they were confined to reformatories prior to entering high-school. In primary school they daily beat up children, including myself. The parents of the victims repeatedly raised the problem with the teachers and principal. The assaults continued. The parents took up the matter with the school board, resulting in the principal being fired. The assaults continued.
By elementary school, my parents placed me in a private school where bullying was not tolerated, and where students, both individually and by way of student prefects, were expected to comport themselves responsibly. A year later one of the bullies enrolled in that school and attempted to continue the bullying against me and others. For the first and only time in my life, I fought back, for at that school we had been taught that no quarter should be given to bullies.
Once the bully was released from hospital and returned to school a couple of days later, a school assembly was called, the headmaster gave a speech on bullying, shook my hand and publicly congratulated me, and then caned the bully. The bullying ceased.
I expect that the bully, in his disturbed little mind, came to the realization that unlike the public system, this new private school would support my causing him significant pain, so he would be best to not assault me or any other person again.
Hard, bone crushing, bloody physical violence is vulgar, but effective, when it comes to dealing with bullies. If the authorities can not protect victims from assaults (and suspending victims of assaults is in no way protecting them), and the bullies will not listen to reason or respond to treatment or incarceration, then beat them within an inch of their lives such that at a gut level they will be in fear of the victims.