How children see gender-based violence in schools

In October, dozens of children and teachers from 15 schools in the counties of Olt, Dolj, Gorj, Bacău + Bucharest participated in consultations on gender violence in schools. The Terre des hommes Romania team that runs the "ACTIVE - ACT AGAINST VIOLENCE" project went to these areas to find out what types of violence children encounter at school, how often and what makes them feel safe.

The meetings started with discussions and explanations about violence, then separate focus groups were held with children aged 11-15, to understand how they see certain types of violence. After analyzing the answers, the project team will create a methodology for prevention and intervention in cases of violence, and this will be taught to teachers. The schools involved in the project were selected from vulnerable rural communities with limited access to basic social services. A total of 150 students and 225 teachers will be involved in actions to combat gender-based violence in schools.

First conclusions of Alina Dumitru, trainer Terre des hommes Romania:

• there are considerable differences between the openness with which some children talk about violence, and these differences depend on the attitude of teachers

• Children with parents who work abroad or who have migrated themselves (and returned) are often victims of bullying or physical violence by other children.

• children sometimes laugh at cases of violence, which makes others not take them seriously

• children see violence as an inevitable consequence of a certain behavior on the part of the other: in other words, the way someone behaves “justifies” the violence

In "ACTIVE -Act against violence", Terre des hommes analyzes the situation in selected schools, by organizing consultations of children and teachers for a better understanding of social norms, stereotypes, prejudices that underlie negative attitudes. 

ACTIV-Act against violence`` project is implemented by Terre des hommes Foundation in Romania, in partnership with Terre des hommes Moldova and Terre des hommes Ukraine, and benefits from a 194,067 euros grant from Active Citizens Fund Romania, a programme funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants 2014–2021. The content of this website does not necessarily reflect the official position of the EEA and Norway Grants 2014–2021. For more information visit www.eeagrants.org. More details about Active Citizens Fund Romania can be found at www.activecitizensfund.ro.

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