Hazing

Hazing is often ritualistic harassment, abuse, or humiliation with requirements to perform meaningless tasks, sometimes as a way of initiation into a social group. The term often refers to either physical or mental forms of hazing.

Scope

Hazing has been reported in a variety of social contexts, including:

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• Academic fraternities and sororities (see Fraternities and sororities#Hazing issues) and similarly various other sports teams or even 'soft' and non-competitive ones (such as arts)
• Other competitive clubs, and even certain service clubs (such as US freemason lodges, unlike the serious European original tradition)
• The armed forces - in the US, hard hazing practices from World War I boot camps were introduced into colleges
• Police forces (often with a (para)military tradition)
• Rescue services, such as lifeguards (also drilled for operations in military style)
• In workplaces (Davis, 1998)
• Inmate hazing is also common at confinement facilities around the world, including frequent reports of beatings and sexual assaults by fellow inmates. Nuwer recorded an incident at Lone Peak Minimum Security Facility in Bluffdale, Utah, USA in which soon-to-be released prisoners were allegedly hazed by prisoners scheduled to remain in custody.
• Hazing in Indian colleges is known as "ragging," though there are some differences between the two. Compare fagging

It is a subjective matter where to draw to line between hazing (somewhat abusive) and a mere ritual initiation (essentially bonding).

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