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What is school violence?

 

School violence refers to all forms of violence, that takes place in and around schools and is experienced by students and perpetrated by other students, teachers and other school staff. This includes bullying and cyberbullying. Bullying is one of the most pervasive forms of school violence, affecting 1 in 3 young people.

 

What forms may school violence take?

 

Based on existing international surveys that collect data on violence in schools, UNESCO recognizes the following forms of school violence (recognising crossover between categories):

 

• Physical violence, which is any form of physical aggression with intention to hurt and includes:

 

• Physical violence perpetrated by peers, including physical fights (two students of about the same strength or power choosing to fight each other and physical attacks (one or more people hitting or striking a student with a weapon such as a stick, knife or gun).
• Physical violence perpetrated by teachers, which includes the intentional use of physical force with the potential to cause death, disability, injury or harm, regardless of whether it is used as a form or punishment (corporal punishment) or not.

 

• Psychological violence as verbal and emotional abuse, which includes any forms of isolating, rejecting, ignoring, insults, spreading rumors, making up lies, name-calling, ridicule, humiliation and threats, and psychological punishment.
   

• Sexual violence, which includes intimidation of a sexual nature, sexual harassment, unwanted touching, sexual coercion and rape, and it is perpetrated by a teacher, school staff or a schoolmate or classmate, and affects both girls and boys.

• Bullying as a pattern of behaviour rather than isolated incidents, which can be defined as intentional and aggressive behaviour occurring repeatedly against a victim where there is a real or perceived power imbalance and where the victims feel vulnerable and powerless to defend themselves. Bullying can take various forms:

 

• Physical bullying, including hitting, kicking and the destruction of property;
• Psychological bullying, such as teasing, insulting and threatening; or relational, through the spreading of rumours and exclusion from a group; and
• Sexual bullying, such as making fun of a victim with sexual jokes, comments or gestures, which may be defined as sexual ‘harassment’ in some countries.

 

• Cyberbullying is a form of psychological or sexual bullying that takes place online. Examples of cyberbullying include posting or sending electronic messages, including text, pictures or videos, aimed at harassing, threatening or targeting another person via a variety of media and social platforms such as online social networks, chat rooms, blogs, instant messaging and text messaging. Cyberbullying may also include spreading rumours, posting false information, hurtful messages, embarrassing comments or photos, or excluding someone from online networks or other communications.

 

© UNESCO

 

Who perpetrates school violence?

 

School violence is perpetrated by students, teachers and other school staff. However, available evidence shows that violence perpetrated by peers is more common than by teachers and other school staff.

 

What are the main reasons why children are bullied?

 

All children can be bullied, yet evidence shows that children who are perceived to be “different” in any way are more at risk. Key factors include: Physical appearance; ethnic, linguistic or cultural differences including migrant and refugee status; gender, including not conforming to gender norms and stereotypes; social status including poverty; disability; and age.

 

What are the consequences of school violence?

 

Global comparable data are available only for the consequences of bullying, not for the consequences of other forms of school violence.

 

• Educational consequences – Being bullied undermines the sense of belonging at school and affects continued engagement in education. Children who are frequently bullied are more likely to feel like an outsider at school, and more likely to want to leave school after finishing secondary education. Children who are bullied have lower academic achievements than those who are not frequently bullied.
• Health consequences – Children’s mental health and well-being can be adversely impacted by bullying. Bullying is associated with higher rates of feeling lonely and suicidal, higher rates of smoking, alcohol and cannabis use and lower rates of self-reported life satisfaction and health. School violence can also cause physical injuries and harm.

 

Why are teachers such an important part of the holistic approach to prevent and address school violence?

 

Teachers are key to building a positive and supportive learning environment. They can:

 

• Provide quality education that develops students’ self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills that are vital for healthy and respectful relationships;
• create psychologically and physically safe school and classroom environments; 
• model caring and respectful relationships, and positive approaches to conflict management or discipline; 
• guide students to take action themselves through student-led initiatives and peer approaches; 
• recognize and respond to incidents of violence and connect students with referral services when needed; 
• provide a link between school and community through their relationship with parents; and 
• generate evidence and assessing what works at the school level.

 

What support do teachers need to help create safe learning environments?

 

A global online survey of teachers’ perceptions and practice in relation to school violence conducted by UNESCO in 2020 revealed that not all teachers are fully prepared to fulfill the role in preventing and addressing school violence:

 

• Almost half of the teachers surveyed say they received little or no training on school violence during their pre-service education, and more than two-thirds say that they have learned how to manage school violence through experience. Three in four teachers surveyed can identify physical and sexual violence yet are less likely to recognize some forms of psychological violence.
• Even if the teachers surveyed can identify school violence, and four in five say it is their responsibility to create a safe learning environment, they do not always intervene. Four in five help victims, but only half engage with students who witness violence.

 

Teachers’ ability to positively influence school environments and to prevent or respond to violence, depends heavily on their preparation, in-service professional development, teaching standards, duties and workload. Other considerations include political leadership, legal and policy frameworks at national, local and school level, and support, resources and training.

 

What are the linkages between school violence, school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression (SOGIE)?

 

School violence may be perpetrated as a result of gender norms and stereotypes and enforced by unequal power dynamics – it is referred to as school-related gender-based violence. It includes, in particular, a specific type of gender-based violence, which is linked to the actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity or expression of victims, referred to as violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression, including homophobic and transphobic bullying. School-related gender-based violence is a significant part of school violence that requires specific efforts to address.

 

Does school-related gender-based violence refer to sexual violence against girls only?

 

No. School-related gender-based violence refers to all forms of school violence that is based on or driven by gender norms and stereotypes, which also includes violence against and between boys.

 

Is school violence always gender-based?

 

There are many factors that drive school violence. Gender is one of the significant drivers of violence but not all school violence is based on gender. Moreover, international surveys do not systematically collect data on the gendered nature of school violence, nor on violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.

 

Based on the analysis of global data, there are no major differences in the prevalence of bullying for boys and girls. However, there are some differences between boys and girls in terms of the types of bullying they experience. Boys are much more exposed to physical bullying, and to physical violence in general, than girls. Girls are slightly more exposed to psychological bullying, particularly through cyberbullying. According to the same data sexual bullying (sexual jokes, comments and gestures) affects the same proportion of boys and girls. Data coming from different countries, however, shows that girls are increasingly exposed to sexual bullying online.

 

How does UNESCO help prevent and address school violence?

 

The best available evidence shows that responses to school violence including bullying that are effective should be comprehensive or holistic, i.e. made of a combination of policies and interventions. Often this comprehensive response to school violence is referred to as a whole-school approach. Based on an extensive review of existing conceptual frameworks that describe that whole-school approach, UNESCO has identified the key components of a response that goes beyond schools and could be better described as a whole-education system or whole-education approach.  These components are the following:

 

• Strong political leadership and robust legal and policy framework to address school violence;
• Training and support for teachers on school violence prevention and positive classroom management
• Curriculum, learning & teaching to promote, a caring (i.e. anti- school violence/anti-bullying) school climate and students’ social and emotional skills
• A safe psychological and physical school and classroom environment
• Reporting mechanisms for students affected by school violence, together with support and referral services
• Involvement of all stakeholders in the school community including parents
• Student empowerment and participation
• Collaboration and partnerships between the education sector and a wide range of partners (other government sectors, NGOs, academia)
• Evidence: monitoring of school violence including bullying and evaluation of responses

 

- UNESCO’s work to prevent and address school violence and bullying

 

URL:

https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/qa-role-teachers-preventing-and-addressing-school-violence