Ending violence against children in and around schools – Save the Children, Policy brief 2011

Children around the world say violence in and around school impacts on their ability to learn effectively. Physical and humiliating punishments in school interfere with their learning and affect their cognitive and emotional development. Violence leaves children performing poorly at school compared to others. It often also causes children to drop out of school, alongside factors such as poverty and gender discrimination.

When school-based violence and abuse put children’s physical and psychological well-being at risk, their rights to an education and protection are neither respected nor fulfilled. Schools play an important role in providing a safe and supportive environment for children to grow up in. Schools should be free from violence and discrimination, promote responsibility, participation and democracy, and help each child develop to its full potential.