Tackling Violence in Schools – Bridging the gap between standards and practice

The Special Representative on Violence against Children has launched the report “Tackling Violence in Schools – Bridging the gap between standards and practice”. The report seeks to raise awareness of the important initiatives promoted across nations to prevent and address violence against children in schools and to mobilize decisive action to accelerate progress in violence prevention and elimination. It examines six key areas where change can and must be made in order to ensure that every child enjoys her or his right to an education as required under article 29(1) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The key areas addressed in this report are: developing holistic, whole-school strategies; building partnerships with children; providing support for teachers and other staff; changing attitudes and addressing social norms; securing children’s legal protection; and consolidating data and research. The report illustrates each of these six areas with recent initiatives aimed at preventing violence against children. It also gives special attention to the issue of violence in schools from the perspective of children belonging to particularly vulnerable groups, including girls, children with disabilities, belonging to minorities or who are indigenous, refugee children and children who are victims of violence and discrimination as a result of their sexual orientation