310 cases of school violence in the first 3 months of the year

At the seminar "Preventing school violence - So that children are not alone" on the afternoon of April 8, Deputy Director of the Criminal Police Department Pham Manh Thuong informed that according to statistics from the Public Security sector, in the first quarter of 2019 alone, there were 310 cases of school violence nationwide, mainly among middle and high school students.

In late March and early April alone, a series of violent incidents between students occurred in provinces and cities such as Hung Yen, Nghe An and most recently Quang Ninh.

Searching on Google, in just 0.33 seconds there are 27.9 million results for the phrase "school violence".

Many videos were shared, including the scene of a 9th grade female student of Phu Ung Secondary School (An Thi, Hung Yen) being stripped naked and beaten by 5 classmates, shocking Mr. Dang Hoa Nam - Director of the Department of Children (Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs). Through monitoring and analysis, Mr. Nam affirmed that in the next 2-3 years, information and videos about school violence will be posted more for a number of reasons.

To avoid school violence, direct students to healthy extracurricular activities. (In the photo: A folk dance performance by students of the Middle School. Photo courtesy of My Ha

"In addition, the legal framework is also tighter, so people's trust has also increased. Services provided to people are also better, such as the national hotline for child protection 111. Over the past 15 years, the number of calls to report sexual abuse and violence has increased rapidly," Mr. Nam informed, affirming that the submerged part of the iceberg called school violence will gradually emerge.

When asked who are the victims of school violence, Mr. Nam said that not only the students who are beaten, but also the students who commit violence are victims because the fault does not entirely lie with the students but also with those responsible for managing, caring for, and raising them.

Of course, children who commit violence will be punished, even criminally. However, Mr. Nam believes that all measures taken against children are only deterrent and educational to help change. Punishments will also be considered to ensure children's rights.

In addition to students, schools and families must also take responsibility for not completing the education and supervision of their children. The Director of the Department of Children believes that if students cause harm to their friends to the extent that they have to bear civil liability, their parents - the guardians - must pay civil compensation. This not only deters students but also educates parents so that they can take better measures to help their children.

State management agencies, law enforcement agencies and local authorities also need to take responsibility for not doing their best to protect, care for and invest in children.

Recently, especially since the 2016 Children's Law was applied, public opinion and social organizations have asked the question "Why does Vietnamese law stipulate 17 agencies and organizations responsible for protecting children along with schools and families, but in some cases of abuse and violence, children still feel alone?" Mr. Nam said that it was because the involvement of agencies was not timely and the effect of the 2016 Children's Law in life is still very slow.

The Director of the Department of Children hopes that in the coming time, agencies and organizations need to fulfill their responsibilities according to the law, and at the same time need to propagate so that children know who to talk to, how to talk to them and when they are at risk or are being abused.

School violence has become an obsession for many parents, students and schools. Photo courtesy of Duc Anh

Mr. Bui Van Linh - Deputy Director of the Department of Political Education and Student Affairs said: The Ministry of Education and Training is presiding over and coordinating with relevant ministries and branches to develop and submit to the Government a decree on administrative sanctions in the field of education; the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs submits to the Government a decree on sanctions in the field of children. At that time, agencies, organizations and individuals who violate will be handled appropriately.

According to Mr. Linh, when discovering conflicts between students, teachers need to immediately approach the problem, through direct and indirect channels to clearly understand the nature, discuss with parents and report to the school principal to ask for instructions on how to resolve the situation immediately. Counseling teachers, Youth Union and Young Pioneer officials also have the responsibility to pay attention to the thoughts and opinions of Youth Union members, Young Pioneer members and students, and absolutely must not be subjective, ignore and delay in handling situations.

Deputy Director of the Department of Political Education and Student Affairs Bui Van Linh. Photo: Duong Tam

Also according to the representative of the Ministry of Education and Training, although the system of legal documents and instructions to ensure a safe educational environment and prevent school violence is very complete, state management agencies need to review to detect inadequacies and make adjustments to suit reality.