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Resolution 1803 (2011)
Education against violence at school
1. The Parliamentary Assembly is deeply
concerned by the fact that too many schools in Europe continue to
be confronted with very serious acts of violence. Incidents include
attacks by pupils, with or without weapons, bullying and harassment
among pupils, sexual violence, acts of hostility and even attacks
on teachers by pupils and the use of violence by teachers against
pupils.
2. Although such events may remain infrequent, the Assembly considers
that they deserve the greatest attention as they always produce
very significant – if not dramatic – effects on the people involved
and their immediate environment, provoking feelings of frustration,
fear and insecurity. They are a worrying sign that, despite many
efforts, the phenomena of violence at school and of violence in
society in general have not been properly addressed.
3. Humanism, non-violent behaviour, tolerance and mutual respect
are common fundamental values upheld by the Council of Europe since
its founding six decades ago and the Organisation takes pride in
its long-standing efforts to combat all kinds of violence, in particular
against children.
4. Fundamental safeguards are provided by Articles 3 and 8 of
the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5) and by the revised
European Social Charter (ETS No. 163). The latter states in Article 17
that children and young persons shall be protected against negligence,
violence or exploitation, with a view to ensuring the effective
exercise of their right to grow up in an environment which encourages
the full development of their personality and of their physical
and mental capacities.
5. The Assembly has dealt with these issues in many texts, including Recommendation 561 (1969) on
the protection of minors against ill-treatment; Recommendation 1666 (2004) on
a Europe-wide ban on corporal punishment of children; Recommendation 1778 (2007) on
child victims: stamping out all forms of violence, exploitation
and abuse; Recommendation
1905 (2010) and Resolution
1714 (2010) on children who witness domestic violence;
and Recommendation 1934
(2010) on child abuse in institutions: ensuring full
protection of the victims.
6. Standards for the protection of children against violence
are also included in Committee of Ministers Recommendation No. R
(79) 17 on the protection of children against ill-treatment, Recommendation
No. R (85) 4 on violence in the family and Recommendation CM/Rec(2009)10
on integrated national strategies for the protection of children
from violence. The Assembly also recalls General Policy Recommendation
No. 10 on combating racism and racial discrimination in and through
school education of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance.
7. The 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
guarantees the harmonious and safe development of each child and
its Article 19 explicitly relates to protecting children against
violence. The Assembly welcomes, in this context, the work of the
Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General on
Violence against Children.
8. The Assembly recalls that according to Article 26 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, education shall be directed to the
full development of the human personality and to the strengthening
of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote
understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations and ethnic
or religious groups.
9. Notwithstanding worldwide condemnation, violence unfortunately
appears to be an aspect of human relations which is very difficult
to eradicate. It occurs everywhere, between individuals and groups
as well as within families, social groups and societies. It can
manifest itself in direct physical aggression or take less evident,
but equally harmful, psychological forms. Violence at school and
violence in society are closely linked; it is therefore not surprising
that various forms of violence exist within the school environment.
10. However, the Assembly will continue to combat all forms of
violence with the greatest determination, in particular those directed
at children and young people. In this respect, it is of the utmost
importance to address violence as early as possible in the school
life of children and to introduce and/or further develop education against
violence at school.
11. The radical transformations which have occurred in education
policies show that it is possible to achieve results and change
mentalities: authoritarian teaching methods have gradually given
way to a non-authoritarian style, often promoting a critical approach
to authoritarianism. Similar developments exist within parent-child relations
and within society as a whole.
12. Research into violence at school has been conducted in many
countries and several governments have established national programmes
to combat such violence. The Assembly also welcomes the work of
the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children in this field.
Results are encouraging, but further efforts are required to reduce
violence at school.
13. If this problem is not treated adequately, the resulting social
and financial costs will clearly exceed the costs of setting up
more comprehensive programmes to deal with violence effectively,
not to mention the unacceptable human suffering of those children
who are being or have been exposed to violence.
14. It is, of course, crucial that violence be prohibited and
acts of violence which fall under penal or disciplinary provisions
be referred to law-enforcement or disciplinary authorities and corresponding
sanctions pronounced and implemented. However, sanctions are a last
resort and not a remedy. Preventive action and support for victims
are even more necessary. Consideration must be given to the fact
that violent children themselves are most likely to be victims of
violence. In addition, the greatest transparency must be guaranteed, while
still respecting the dignity and privacy of the victims.
15. Given the complexity of our society and the plurality of factors
that may generate violent behaviour, it is necessary to take action
at different levels and involve all key players, in particular families,
teachers and pupils, in order to effectively combat violence at
school.
16. The media have been producing and distributing violent content
in different forms for decades and the debate about the impact of
such content has existed from the start. With the development of
new forms of interactive online media, a potentially greater psychological
impact has been identified and should be studied further. On the
other hand, since children spend more and more time using media,
informal education through the media may produce positive effects
and should be considered and investigated in more depth.
17. The Assembly therefore adopts the following guiding principles
for education against violence at school and calls on member and
observer parliaments to endorse them at national level and to ensure
that the competent government authorities support schools administratively,
logistically and financially, and monitor the implementation of
these principles;
17.1. Legal framework
and administrative practices:
17.1.1. penal and/or disciplinary
standards should clearly prohibit all acts committed at school which
can be qualified as “violent”, including physical or degrading punishment
of pupils, violence against pupils by school staff, violence by
third persons against pupils on school premises and violent behaviour
by pupils against other pupils, school staff or school property;
17.1.2. penal and/or disciplinary sanctions should be proportionate
to the seriousness of these acts; however, with regard to young
perpetrators of violence, account should be taken of the guidelines
enshrined in Committee of Ministers Recommendation CM/Rec(2008)11
on the European rules for juvenile offenders subject to sanctions
or measures, and in the Issue Paper of 2009 on “Children and Juvenile
Justice: Proposals for Improvements”, published by the Council of
Europe Commissioner for Human Rights;
17.1.3. all acts of violence should be investigated and recorded
and, where an act is of a sufficiently serious nature, it should
be reported to the competent law-enforcement or disciplinary authorities;
in this context, appropriate complaints mechanisms should be set
up for pupils in education settings;
17.1.4. administrative procedures relating to acts of violence
at school should guarantee the right of parents to be fully and
promptly informed, as well as the right of the victims of violence
to the protection of privacy;
17.1.5. school head teachers should be held professionally responsible
for the effective implementation of the obligations outlined above;
17.2. Awareness raising and training:
17.2.1. a culture
of democracy and human rights should be promoted at school, in accordance with
the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship
and Human Rights Education, adopted within the framework of Committee
of Ministers Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)7;
17.2.2. raising awareness about violence reduction, non-violent
conflict resolution and children’s rights, in particular at school,
should form part of general education curricula; violence should
be addressed from different angles in classes on, for example, history,
literature, media, the arts, music, sports, sociology, psychology,
philosophy and religion or ethics;
17.2.3. school teachers and staff should have mandatory training
to better understand the different forms of violence (physical,
psychological, verbal and behavioural violence) and learn how to
combat such violence and respect the right of children to a non-violent
school;
17.2.4. training for school staff should take into account the
specific needs related to their responsibilities, but also the needs
of pupils, especially those who are more vulnerable;
17.3. Preventive and supportive measures:
17.3.1. strict
security measures should be taken to enforce the prohibition of
weapons and drugs in schools and to prevent criminal acts at school;
17.3.2. teaching methods should help address the causes of violence
and seek to avoid individual pupils finding themselves in a situation
of isolation or exclusion; to this end, schools should provide specific
support for pupils with learning, physical, social or other difficulties, reduce
competitive trends in classes, foster teamwork, co-operation and
tolerance and provide opportunities for pupils to control their
physical or psychological tensions in a non-violent manner through
sports, music or artistic activities;
17.3.3. school staff should include specialised confidential counsellors,
trained to help pupils who have experienced violence and those who
have committed violent acts inside or outside school; in addition,
mediators and psychologists should be available for pupils, their
parents and teachers;
17.3.4. within each school district, specialised teams with relevant
knowledge and expertise should be established to provide advice
for schools facing particular difficulties;
17.4. Involvement of pupils and their families:
17.4.1. schools
should develop practical projects and extracurricular activities
(such as forums, round tables, open days) on the problem of violence
at school, which bring together teachers, pupils and parents; particular
attention should be paid to a non-sensational approach of the media
(print media, music, television, film, Internet, mobile phones,
etc.) in relation to violence at school and social violence in everyday
life (such as family violence, group violence, criminal violence);
17.4.2. schools should organise voluntary programmes with parents,
aimed at helping them to assume their parental responsibilities
and ensure full recognition and respect of children’s rights;
17.4.3. in implementing targeted projects and activities, schools
should collaborate with NGOs that have specific knowledge and experience
relating to education against violence;
17.5. Monitoring and assessment:
17.5.1. national authorities
should establish a system to centralise statistical data concerning violence
at school and the results achieved by the different measures implemented
to combat this phenomenon;
17.5.2. national surveys should be conducted in order to identify
good practices, and co-operation between schools at national and
European levels should be encouraged.
18. The Assembly invites the Secretary General of the Council
of Europe to ensure that work on the subject of children and violence
remains a priority for the Council of Europe in future activity
programmes.
19. The Assembly invites the Joint Council on Youth as well as
the Conference of International Non-Governmental Organisations of
the Council of Europe to join the Assembly and the Committee of
Ministers in their efforts to combat violence against children and
violence at school by organising activities in their respective
sectors.