Almost every one of the 180 working days in schools last year was spent with a case of peer violence, or one every day.
This, among other things, was said by a member of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) during the session of the Committee on Health, Labor and Social Welfare yesterday. Zoja Bojanić-Lalović.
“Research shows that the greatest number of violence occurs on the way from home to school,” she said, stating that, according to recent information, the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation announced that there were 179 cases of violence during the year.
Senator of the State Audit Institution (DRI) Branislav Radulović he said that this institution recognizes violence as one of the risks to which children and young people are exposed.
“According to the preliminary research of the audit teams that we took over from the state authorities, violence in schools gives rather worrying data. There was a pronounced increase in suicides, which in the period from 2018 to 2023 numbered as many as 667, over 100 per year, and that they are represented in all ages. Unfortunately, statistics show that it is also present among children aged 0 to 14, and we have the worrying fact that in 2023 there were as many as nine suicides of people aged 15 to 29. An integrated approach of the entire community is required, and peer violence cannot be the responsibility of only one institution,” said Radulović at the session.
Minister of Education, Science and Innovation (MPNI) Anđela Jakšić Stojanović she said that every decision that is made has consequences for the one who suffers violence and for the one who committed the violence.
“Only a punitive policy cannot bring results, but attention must also be paid to children who have committed violence,” she said.
Jakšić Stojanović said that the biggest contribution in the fight against peer violence was made by the non-governmental sector, and added that it is necessary to work on amendments to the rulebook on norms because schools with up to 300 students do not have the right to a psychologist and pedagogue.
“I hope that by the end of November we will submit a new rulebook in order to increase the number of professional associates,” she said.
The Minister of Education, Science and Innovation said that specific forms of violence occurred in smaller schools and that there were neither psychologists nor pedagogues.
“We all get involved very late, when the problem has already happened, and psychologists and pedagogues must react preventively,” she said.
According to her, children see violence in families and take it as a correct model of behavior.
“We also had situations where there was a conflict between educators, and it is difficult to explain to the children who see it that this is unacceptable,” said Jakšić Stojanović.
Head of the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office (ODT) in Podgorica, prosecutor Dusko Milanović he said that when we talk about peer violence, it is not only violence in schools, but that it also occurs outside schools, and that the cause may be some conflicts that occur during school hours.
“When the case reaches the prosecutor’s office, we are already dealing with the consequences,” Milanović said.
He explained that the criminal offense of domestic violence is on the rise, and that they have tried to act as a preventive measure, but that the increase is still ongoing.
“We can link it to peer violence, but we can also link it to failure to provide maintenance – it’s all connected, and has consequences that affect the child’s behavior,” Milanović said.
State Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Mirjana Vlahović Andrijašević said that peer violence is a public health problem that has both physical and psychological consequences.
She said that data from the Clinical Center of Montenegro (KCCG) indicate that from January to November of this year, there were 677 patients who were victims of violence.
“Of these, there were 58 hospitalized patients, and 42 minors”, said Vlahović Andrijašević and added that “the system does not allow them to see who was a victim of family violence and who was a victim of peer violence”.
Protector of human rights and freedoms Siniša Bjeković he said that the ombudsman has been warning about the problem of violence for five years. As he said, violence is an increasingly common form of communication.
“Violence happens more often in the online space and in the open among children”, said Bjeković, emphasizing that in his visits to educational institutions, he noticed that “children do not have empathy, and that violent crimes are a consequence of such an attitude”.
Miloš Knežević from the Center for Civic Education said that the perception of peer violence according to their results reveal alarming data about this type of violence.
“Our research results are based on the experiences of high school students, 21.6 percent of whom stated that they were victims of some form of violence. As many as 66 percent of young people witnessed peer violence, and most of them reported it, which shows that young people want to face this problem. “Half of young people believe that measures against violence exist, but that they are ineffective,” he said.
One of the alarming data, he states, is that nine percent of young people have a sense of insecurity – they do not feel safe in their school.
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Source: www.vijesti.me
