School-Related Violence in Latin America and the Caribbean: Building an evidence base for stronger schools

The prevalence of school-related violence and bullying is a global issue that impacts educational outcomes negatively. Furthermore, bullying can have emotional and physical effects for the children experiencing it, both in the short- and long-term. Although the evidence regarding bullying from low- and middle-income countries is less extensive in comparison to evidence on the effects of bullying from high-income countries, some finding from the Latin American and Caribbean region shows similar results connecting lower reading scores with a high prevalence of bullying victimization.

This working paper uses data from UNESCO’s Third Regional Comparative and Explanatory Study to determine the correlation of bullying and learning outcomes in 15 countries of the LAC region. It also looks at ways to mitigate the impacts of violence.