Introduction

Different reports collected from various schools are in agreement that violence is becoming rampant in many institutions. Indeed, violence happening in schools is the leading form of abuse against children. It takes varying types ranging from psychological to physical abuse. Violence in the leading schools occurs through attributes of repression, bullying, and intimidation. Despite the increase in the number of such cases in schools, most of the students do not report some of the violent incidents. They have expressed concerns that the authorities lack the mechanism of solving violence cases. Additionally, the police do not take them seriously.

Any form of violence in schools is detrimental for students, and the best solution is the unity of stakeholders.

Forms of Violence at School

Despite being in the 21st century, gender-based violence is still on the rise. The report of the survey conducted on 4000 students in Canada has given the revelation that one in every seven girls has experienced sexual assault. This is a worrying trend in schools since the aspect of reporting does not capture all the cases (Shapiro 45). Several examples are not reported for fear of victimization. Others do not report because the administration lacks clear guidelines for handling such cases. Men are also increasingly becoming victims of sexual violence. They undergo prejudice and rejection because of gender. The most depressing is the aspect of rising violence in schools committed by women.

Studies from Canada relay that 78 cases of violence were reported in schools. Further, the report asserts that 154 female teachers and two male teachers are under investigation for committing such crimes (McGuire 2). This means that women lead to committing violence in schools both in Italy and Canada. When considering 63 cases in Italy, it emerged that 81% of the evidence reflected violence in the form of maltreatment. Moreover, 19% of the victims reported having experienced a psychological form of abuse. Further reports from plan international have approximated the number of students experiencing violence yearly to be 246 million (McGuire 2). Another leading cause of violence in schools is identified as religious reasons. Today, schools are characterized by rising spiritual practices that are borrowed from different religions and sects. Yes, these various sects are involved with school violence as they fight for followers. The leadership of these groups is on the quest to extort money through their terms. They dictate and manipulate the commandments for their benefit. Through the use of confusion and dark messages, they spread fear to the students and force other reluctant students into doing their will. In this regard, religion has become a source of violence in schools.

Psychological violence stemming from the disruption of emotional balance has also been on the rise in the leading schools. Psychological abuse manifests on the restriction of ordinary activities of the students. Denigration and ridicule due to race, religion, or financial capability is another form of violence in schools. Further, the uses of threats, including intimidating languages, violate the rights of the students. Hence, they are classified as forms of rising violence in schools (Shapiro, 27). Discrimination has also persisted amongst the students and has been regarded as another leading cause of violence. Certainly, it has emerged from the CBC report that a good number of students do not report cases of violence committed against them (McGuire 1). Lack of reporting has been attributed to a hostile environment, and CBC News is enacting measures to help in restoring change and hope to the students.

Preventing Violence in Schools

Despite the rising rate of violence in schools, some measures can be taken to reduce it. One of the steps is to open communication channels with the students. When the students are engaged in communication, they disclose detrimental information about the school. This information relates to violence, drug consumption, discrimination, and their overall ideas about the schools.

Setting guidelines and limits for the children helps them understand what is expected of them. The consequences of not following the rules must also be communicated. Indeed, family rules are essential in developing a discipline for the students. Training from home translates into school discipline. This contributes to the realization of reduced violence (Matthew J. Mayer, 52). Discipline reduces force because the students are accustomed to doing the right thing at home and school.

Additionally, solving violence in schools calls for the intervention of parents, teachers, and the community. Indeed, parents must understand their boundaries and intervene to restore discipline upon their children. It is the parents’ responsibility to talk to their children when they exhibit a poor attitude that poses potential harm to other students. Monitoring and evaluation of children for potentially bad habits will significantly reduce the prevalence of violence in schools.

Finally, parents should join the violence prevention coalition because this can reduce its prevalence by 30%. The violence prevention coalition is a community-based program aimed at creating safe schools and communities at large (McGuire 2). Indeed, they work together with the schools and parents to identify potential disparities and sources of violence. Additionally, they also identify possible solutions to the problems in schools. This has significantly contributed to the reduction of violence in schools.

Conclusion

Violence in schools is arising disparity that needs to be addressed. There are different forms of manifestation of violence, but the consequences remain detrimental to the students. Records have shown that women are increasingly participating in oppressing students. Despite the cause of violence, critical concerns have been raised regarding solving them. Yes, solving cases of abuse in schools is a collective effort between students, teachers, parents, and the community. When all these players come together, solutions are imminent.

Works Cited

Matthew J. Mayer, ‎Shane R. Jimerson. School Safety and Violence Prevention: Science, Practice, Policy. United States: American Psychological Association, 2019.

McGuire, Jennifer. “Why CBC started looking into violence in schools.” 24 10 2019. CBC. 21 4 2020.

Shapiro, Harvey. The Wiley Handbook on Violence in Education: Forms, Factors, and Preventions. Washington, DC: John Wiley & Sons, 2018.

Violence has been a serious issue for a long time. Young teens and adults have used violence as propaganda, to establish the ranks in a class system invented to make everyone feel bad about themselves. Masculinity is an expectation, it’s distancing yourself from the innate According to society men have about three options to prove their manhood: fighting, sex and stoicism. Not only that, but these concepts are constantly around them, they are in movies, in sports, in school and in their personal lives. Masculinity is one of these most restrictive concepts in society. These restrictions create a weak environment for boys to grow up. This weak environment leads to an overload of undealt emotions that lead to self destruction and potentially violent outburst on the rest of society.       

By insinuating fighting, you insinuate violence. People like Brian Burke and Don Cherry believe that fighting is part of the fabric of hockey. And as some put “hockey with fighting? We might as well be figure skating”. It’s so funny to think that the only excuse people have for allowing fighting in hockey is that it’s been that way forever, is just so irritating. And don’t even get me started on, Don Cherry saying if we don’t allow fighting, anger is going to manifest itself in different ways, how about letting these men know that in these cases their actions don’t speak louder than words and that maybe the feelings of anger they sense are really just feelings of stress and frustration, and tell them that those emotions are valid and permissible since they are human. Not only that, children are great imitators, they learn through observation, so saying that these fights do nothing is a total lie. Even the players know what they’re doing, and even if they would prefer not to do it, they still do. It’s the name of the game. But if the death of one person is not enough to draw a line, then we are in way worse condition than I thought. What does living by this ‘Code’ do for these athletes? What happens if they choose not to fight? Do they lose their position or spot on the team? Do they automatically become a target from the opposing teams? Like what happens? Why do they even allow these fights to happen in the first place? And is skating just a sideshow then? Is hockey even about skill? Now, I understand that many other sports like boxing and karate all have fighting at their core but the principle is different. There is no malicious intent in boxing. These fighters do not fight people, they fight opponents. There are probably more regulations for boxing then there are for hockey at this point. Now I like the idea of players protecting their most valuable player/friend but I believe that this violence is organized. These players know that in order to play the game, you need to play by the rules and if the rules say fight is the way to go, then they’re going to do just that. Now fighting may be entertaining but it does nothing for the actual teams. In my opinion, it actually decreases my appreciation for sports in general. Now my bias shines through as I’ve never played a game of hockey in my life but I think I know enough about integrity to understand the contradiction in saying that violence in one form makes it less likely that violence will happen under another.    

The rise of physical and sexual assault in school is crazy, about 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men are affected by sexual violence. Only a fraction of women speak up, even much less for men and when survivors do speak up they forever live a life of shame and fear. Which is not made easier by the fact that most of the time the people responsible walk away scotch free. Violence in schools often goes undocumented out fear that it may smear the school’s reputation. Strange, how an institution responsible for ensuring the safety and wellness of children is doing the exact opposite. In the CBC Gem documentary, all of the kids felt as though they were pushed aside and almost told to toughen up. As if getting the crap beaten out of you or getting raped is something one just ‘gets over’. The schools do nothing, which is a huge slap in the face for victims of violence because it says “we have better things to do then take care of your self inflicted issues that you must have provoked because no student from our school would do such a thing”. Just like in hockey, they allow the violence to prevail. School authorities use their energy hiding these issues rather than solving them, which makes these issues larger as now people are getting away with basically anything. It’s kind of comforting knowing that you’re not the only one being swept under the rug but then again it’s super disappointing knowing that resources are being missed used in the education system. It’s almost like they tend more to the perpetrator’s needs than those of the victim. It’s like, imagine getting shot in the knee and only given a bandaid. There doing the bare minimum, at most.      

Men get too caught up with being a ‘man’ and they forget that they are human beings. The patriarchy has created a list of criteria for what a man is supposed to be and if you don’t meet those criterias, well guess what? You’re not a man, according to this very old, closed minded testimony made by a bunch of old, white, blind men who neglected their own identity in order to be ‘successful’ if you liked to call it that. And believe me when I tell you that deep down, those men probably died miserable. These criteria are the “doing for dummies” of books. One article that stands out to me when talking about all this is Kimmel’s “Masculinity” in which he describes what “doing gender” is. He states “Doing gender is a lifelong process of performances”. That’s right performing. Not living. Not being. These boys are trying to survive in a world that wants them to fail. Something else he says that is super relevant is: “If authenticity for gender rests not in a discoverable nature but in someone else’s proclamation, then the power to proclaim something else is available”. Acting in the way that is commended instead of in the way in which one desires to. Moreso, Kinnel uses the term “masculinities” instead of the singular term, and he does to illustrate the wide range of ways to be masculine and how different those variations are in different societies. Now imagine if we combine all those variations under one umbrella term “masculine”. Not only would it allow for a more comprehensive vision when it comes to what a man is. Both of these documentaries showcase the very result of these binding rules that men follow, allowing this violence to penetrate their very mind makes them think that their emotions of sadness and duress should be channelled into feelings of anger and revolt. The system that allows dangerous men to get away with heinous crimes is the exact same system that let’s down the men who don’t “make the criteria”. Breaking down toxic masculinity is essential to repair our broken system. Showing men that these qualities aren’t feminine, they’re human. And that there is nothing wrong with being just that.