Violence At School

Violence at school – maybe you have experienced it too! Find out what you can do!

When is violence at school?

Not every argument at school is violence. Everywhere people come together, arguments can happen. But there is a difference in how these arguments take place. It is understandable and happens that people are angry or hurt and maybe even argue, e.g. because a classmate did not include you in his or her team in gym class.

It is different when, for example, a pupil is excluded or belittled by other pupils over a longer period of time. Then it is bullying.

Violence is often about exploiting superiority and intentionally wanting to harm another person.

How does violence manifest itself at school?

Violence between pupils

• Physical e.g. kicking, pushing, hitting, holding.
• Psychological e.g. bullying or cyber-bullying, extorting money, threats.
• Sexual e.g. groping of fellow pupils

Violence between pupils and teachers

• Physical e.g. teacher shakes pupil or pupil jostles teacher
• Psychological e.g. teacher makes fun of a pupil’s appearance or pupil tells lies about teacher
• Sexual e.g. teacher uses his/her relationship of trust to approach pupil sexually

Damaging objects

E.g. destroying school boxes, painting walls, damaging other pupils’ belongings.

Hate Speech

Hate speech is speech that is directed against certain groups, e.g. against certain religions, population groups (e.g. “all refugees deal drugs”) or sexual orientations (e.g. against gays, lesbians, transgender people). The statements are hurtful, insulting and incite hatred. Hate speech can take place in offline life and online.

More on the topic of hate postings

What is bullying?

In bullying, one or more people repeatedly behave violently towards one or more other people over a longer period of time. The violence is physical or psychological. The bully or bullies are stronger or are experienced as stronger and want to intentionally hurt or harm the other person(s).

Bullying is similar to bullying, except that physical violence can also occur. Sometimes the terms are used synonymously.

What should you do if you are affected by violence at school?

TIP:

If you get into a dangerous or uncomfortable situation at school, draw attention to yourself. Try to run quickly to somewhere where there are other people or shout loudly. During the break, you can also stay close to teachers who are supervising the corridors.

TIP — Dare to get help from a teacher!

You don’t have to solve the situation alone – you have the right to protection and support. There is no shame in confiding in someone and getting support. On the contrary, it is very brave and important to have someone by your side that is there to help! Because alone, everyone is quickly overwhelmed. It is often difficult to solve everything alone, especially when several others have joined forces. Teachers also have a supervisory duty at school and must help you if you are affected by violence. In case of danger for other students, violent students can be suspended or expelled.

Many tips on what you can do can also be found here

Bullying – horror in the classroom

Help to prevent violence at school!

You can do something yourself to prevent violence. Be attentive and don’t look away. If you observe something strange in your class or school, don’t hesitate to talk to a teacher about it. This is better than intervening yourself, because your own protection always comes first.

You are always welcome to contact us. During counselling, we can discuss with you what can be helpful for you individually and what you can do in case of violence at school.

For further help and support  — Speak with a licensed therapist today.