Hazing

Hazing (American English), initiation,^[1] beasting^[2] (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), or ragging (South Asian English) is making new people do dangerous, illegal, or unpleasant activities in order to join a group. These are things meant to humiliate, degrade, or endanger someone even if the person agrees to it.^[3] Hazing is a type of bullying. Sex acts, drinking alcohol, or eating too much food are often part of hazing. In gangs, hazing is often called an initiation rite.

Tied and blindfolded first-year students from the University of Talca, Chile

Hazing happens in many different types of social groups, including schools, colleges, universities, sports teams, cliques (groups of students who others consider popular or special), military units, prisons, gangs, fraternities and sororities, and workplaces. Hazing happens often in unmonitored places with hazardous equipment.

In most cases, hazing is against the rules and often illegal. However, due to casual acceptance and the practicing in secret, it is often overlooked and unpunished. In extreme cases, people can die because of hazing.

Required physical training such as being forced to run a long distance or do a lot of push-ups in an army is not called hazing.