Chapter 4: VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS AND EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS

What types of violence take place in schools?

• Physical violence from teachers: Teachers may beat children and young people as punishment, for example when they have not done their work properly.
• Cruel treatment and humiliation by teachers: Teachers may shout at students or call them names.
• Physical and mental violence from other students: Students might beat up a child or bully them.
• Gang violence: In many schools, children and young people are members of gangs that fight each other.
• Sexual and gender violence: Girls may be harassed verbally, abused, or raped at school or on their way there. Also violence often occurs against young people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
  

For more information, see the Young People’s Violence Study Report.

 

In their own words

“My teacher teaches in Oriya (a local language), which I don’t understand. When he asks me a question, I can’t answer because I don’t follow what he says. He abuses me and hits me with a duster everyday for it.” Tribal girl, 9, South Asia “I took a folder, wrote down dates and times every time I was harassed. I took it down to the principal. He said, ‘Son you have too much time on your hands to worry about these folders. I have more important things to do than to worry about what happened two weeks ago.’ I told him, ‘I wanted to give you an idea of what goes on, the day-today harassment.’ He took the folder away from me and threw it in the trash.” Boy, North America “The teacher offends the older girls, locks them up in the bathroom and tries to rape them, telling them that if they don’t accept, he will lower their grades.” Group of indigenous girls, Latin America “At our school, the windows have bars, there are video cameras on the lobbies, at the front entry we have a metal door. I feel like a prisoner, I don’t feel protected at all. The teachers exaggerate with all of this.” Girl, 11th grade, Europe and Central Asia “As my father could not go to pick up my sister from school one day, she had to come home alone. On the way home four boys touched her but she could not talk to he father about that. But she told me, and even I could not tell father.” Child, South Asia

Activity 6: Agree – Disagree

Why do this?

• It gets everyone thinking, talking and moving.
• It helps the group listen to and respect different ideas.

What you need:

• Open space
• Three signs that can be posted several metres apart, one saying AGREE, one
  DISAGREE, one NOT SURE
• Time: 45 minutes

What to do:

1. Explain that you will read a statement about violence in schools. Each person
   should decide what they think about the statement. Do they agree, disagree, or aren’t they sure? They should stand near the sign that shows what they think.
2. Read the first statement (use one from the box, or make up ones that will work with this group). Give them time to decide where to stand.
3. Ask a few people in each group to explain their
   opinion. Anyone else who hears something that
   makes them change their mind can move to a
   new place.
4. Read the second statement; repeat step
5. Read the third statement; repeat step
6. Ask the group:
   -How did you react to this activity?
   -What did you learn from it?
   -If you changed your mind – what made that happen?

Next steps:

• If you were talking to someone who didn’t think violence in school was a problem, what could you say to change their minds? Role play this!
  Ideas for using role play are given on page 11.
• Encourage the group to read more about violence in schools in the Young People’s Violence Study Report, or review main points from the introduction to this chapter.
• Use the quotes on page 24 to discuss different types of violence in schools.
• Find out what the CRC says about violence in schools.
  

 

Use these statements, or make up your own!

Physical punishment (hitting, slapping) can be used if it helps children learn. Verbal punishments (name-calling, humiliation) don’t hurt children as much as physical punishments. Children who are bullied or teased need to learn to defend themselves.

 

Activity 7: Mapping

 

Why do this?

• It gets young people talking about real
  situations.
• Everyone can get involved in drawing.
  

What you need:

• Large sheets of paper (1 per group)
• Markers, crayons or pencils
• Tape for hanging maps
• Time: 45–60 minutes

What to do:

1. Divide the young people into groups of four. Ask each group to draw a map of their school, youth centre, or other places they go to learn or take classes. They may want to draw the school yard and streets near the school, too.
2. Have them mark on their maps places where violence takes place, and make a brief note to say what type of violence it is.

Note to the group leader: Some young people may talk about violence they are currently experiencing. Review Chapter 1, Part C, on how to handle this.

1. Hang the maps on a wall so the group can walk around and look at them. You can group them by gender, or by age (if the group has children of different ages).
   
2. Discuss: How were the maps similar? How were they different?
3. Did girls and boys identify different places, or types of violence?
4. Did young people of different ages identify different places, or types of violence?
5. On a large sheet of paper, write a summary: What are the main types of violence?
6. Where do they occur? How can they be prevented?
   

Next steps:

• Role play ways to deal with these types of violence; ideas for using role play are given on page 11.
• Show the maps to someone who will listen (a teacher, school head, or community leader). Do this in a way that will keep you and other young people safe. Suggest how the maps can be used to make change – for example, should an adult be present in unsafe places? Can toilets be made safer?
• Research laws in your country about violence in schools – do they exist? Are they enforced? If not, discuss how to take action on this issue.

Activity 8: Find Out for Yourself! Bullying

Why do this?

• To become more informed about the issue.
• To develop ideas for taking action.

What you need:

• Questionnaires
• Pencils
• Time: Variable
  

What to do:

1. Organisations around the world collected information about violence against
   children for the Violence Study. Young people can also collect information. .
   One way to do this is by using a questionnaire.
2. In small groups, discuss an issue of violence in schools that you could collect local information on. Before deciding on the issue, ask:
3. Do you need to get permission from anyone (such as the head teacher or
   director of the youth centre) to do this?
   • Can you collect this information without putting yourself in danger?
   • Can you collect this information without putting others in danger?
   • How will you explain to others why you are doing this?
   • How will you share your results?
   
4. Have each group report its ideas; vote on one that everyone will work on.
   
5. Make a questionnaire to collect information. An example (of bullying) is on the next page. Decide when to collect information (for example, during lunch break for one week).
6. Collect information. It helps to work in pairs, one person asking questions and the other person writing.
7. Meet up with other pairs to share results (such as, what types of bullying happened most often?). Older groups can calculate percentages, and make graphs or tables to show the results.

Next steps:

• Present your information to others – students, teachers, parents, members of the community, organisations that work with young people, or religious leaders.
• Get them to work with you on plans to end the violence. For example, have an adult present in the school yard if bullying takes place there; or set up a way to report on bullying to school authorities.

Sample Questionnaire on Bullying in School Find one person at a time and ask if she/he would answer some questions on bullying. Explain why you are asking these questions, and that you will not share her/his name when reporting the results. If she/he agrees, go to a quiet place, explain what bullying is, and ask these questions one at a time. If she/he doesn’t want to answer the questions, say thank you and find someone else. Bullying means actions taken by one young person, or a group, against another young person, with the intent to threaten, humiliate or harm that person. Bullying may be physical, verbal (using words), or sexual. E-mail, instant messaging, and websites can be used to bully. Excluding (leaving a person out of the group) can also be a form of bullying. Have you ever been bullied at school? How often does this happen to you? • Less than once a month • About once a month • About once a week • More than once a week What kinds of bullying have happened to you? • Physical • Using words • Exclusion • Sexual • Using the Internet • Others (explain) What things do you think would help stop the bullying?

Make a Difference! Take Action against Violence towards Children in Schools and Educational Settings

Young people around the world are taking action on issues of violence against children in schools and educational settings – you can, too! Here are some materials that can help. You don’t have to use them all – choose ones that will work for the age level and interests of your group.

• The ‘Planning for Action’ questions in Chapter 1, page 14, can help you design a project.
• The ‘Ideas for Action: Violence against Children in Schools and Educational
  Settings’ box below shows ways to get involved. There are more ideas in Chapter 8.
• The short ‘Taking Action Around the World’ stories on the next page tell you what other young people have done.
• After the short stories, there is a longer story called ‘Violence against Children in Schools: Taking Action in El Salvador’. This can be used by young people who want to look in more detail at how an action project is carried out.
  

Allow the group plenty of time to plan for action! This can take more time than the other activities in this book. It is a good idea to do planning in more than one session over a period of days or weeks. This gives time to think about problems that might come up, and how to solve them.

 

Ideas for action: violence against children in schools and educational settings

Organise a group of student volunteers who will walk home with otherswho have been bullied, or sit with them during lunch. Work with the school to set up a way to report on violence, such as a ‘post box’. Find someone from a child-focused organisation who will talk to teachers and parents about ways to discipline without violence. Ask an organisation to come to the school to teach young people and teachers about non-violent ways to resolve conflicts. Talk to elected officials about the need for laws against physical punishment in schools. Organise a debate on physical punishment, to be held in school or in the community. Work with a youth-focused organisation to set up a telephone hotline where students can report violence, and get help in handling it. Ask teachers whether they can talk about the Violence Study and violence against children, for example in civics classes.

Taking Action Around the World:

Violence against Children in Schools and Educational Settings

Here are some examples of actions against violence in schools that have been taken by children around the world.

• El Salvador: In the city of San Salvador, youth gangs were involved in street fights, rape, murder, and throwing bombs into school playgrounds. Scouts in El Salvador did a study to find out why young people join gangs; some of the reasons were a need for identity and self-esteem. They set up a camp for two schools with rival gangs. At the camp, students from both schools got to know each other.
• They worked in small groups on activities that helped them be creative, find nonviolent ways to communicate, learn about each other and respect their differences. After the camps, gang members began to organise social activities and community service projects between their schools. Since the camps started, the number of students involved in violence has dropped by 80 percent. (A more detailed version of this story is on page 34.)
• India: Through meetings with international and local organisations, children in Orissa (a state in India) identified physical and humiliating punishment as the most common form of violence against children. They raised awareness of the issue with adults through theatre, letter-writing, and workshops. They also made a film, which was shown to community members. In August 2004, the Chief Minister of Orissa issued a Government Order banning corporal punishment in schools in the state.
  
• Peru: School Councils in Peru give young people a voice on many children’s rights issues. They work to end physical and psychological punishment and other violence against children. The School Councils hold workshops for parents on children’s rights, including the issue of physical punishment. When they identify an example of violence against children, they notify the Municipal Children’s Rights Office.
• Uganda: The African Network for Prevention and Protection against Child
  Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN) in Uganda works to end child sexual abuse and exploitation. They hold child-led support groups on rights issues, for in-school and out-of-school children. The result is more cases of child abuse being reported, and more communication with responsible adults, including the Local Council.

If you know of examples of young people in your country taking action on violence against children in schools and educational settings, share these with the group!

Violence against Children in Schools: Taking Action in El Salvador

In San Salvador and surrounding towns in El Salvador, youth gang activity led to an
increase in street fights, rape and murder in 2001. The community was particularly shocked when bombs were thrown into school playgrounds. School leaders tried to punish those involved, but had little success in stopping the problems.

Youth members of the Scout Association of El Salvador did a study to find out why young people joined gangs. What were they are looking for? They also asked Scouts why they joined Scouting. The answers were remarkably similar, including a need for identity and self-esteem.

They decided that Scouting might help the young people who were joining violent gangs.

They invited students, aged 15–20, from two schools with rival gangs to join them in a holiday camp: adventure, fun, a chance to get away from home, and it was free. Most had never been out of the city before.

At the camp, students from both schools got to know each other. They worked in small groups called ‘solidarity brigades’, which included young people who were trained to work with gang members. The ‘solidarity brigades’ organised activities that helped them be creative, find nonviolent ways to communicate, learn about each other and respect their differences.

Many gang members were suspicious at first. But their opinions started to change when those who had gone to the first camp returned to school! Enthusiasm spread; they organised social activities, dialogue between schools, and community service projects.

Since then, more camps have been held, and more than 10,000 people have been involved, including 500 teachers who have learned to teach tolerance and non-violence. According to the National Civil Police, the number of students involved in violent events has dropped by 80 percent since 2001.

Source: World Organisation of the Scout Movement, www.scout.org

Reflect

What might be some of the advantages of having young people, instead of adults, teach others their age about domestic violence?

 

What might be some of the problems that peer educators could face?

Source: http://www.violencestudy.org

Plan Sri Lanka & FRD Copyright 2006-2007