SARAJEVO, MAY 6 (ONASA) – Member of the BiH Presidency, Denis Bećirović, sent an invitation to officials of various levels of government in our country and initiated consideration of the issue of peer violence in BiH with special reference to the standardization and implementation of concrete measures for prevention and punishment.
Bećirović proposed that the Minister of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Minister of Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Minister of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Minister of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Minister of Education and Science of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Minister of Education and Culture of Republika Srpska should be invited to the session, as well as the Head of the Department of Education of the Government of the Brčko District of BiH, Minister of the Interior of the Federation of BiH, Minister of the Interior of the Republika Srpska, Head of the Public Security Department of the Brčko District of BiH, Minister of Justice of the Federation of BiH, Minister of Justice of the Republika Srpska.
The invitation states that the problem of peer violence cannot be prevented and solved with a partial approach in Bosnia and Herzegovina, therefore joint action of authorities at all levels in Bosnia and Herzegovina is necessary in order to prevent unwanted consequences and increase the safety of children.
“Especially important legal acts that regulate issues of responsibility and the obligation to implement violence prevention measures and adequate treatment are: the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Constitution of the Republic of Srpska, the Framework Law on Primary and Secondary Education in BiH, the Criminal Code of BiH, The Law on Prohibition of Discrimination in BiH, the Law on Criminal Procedure in BiH, the Law on Gender Equality in BiH and numerous other relevant legal acts,” said Bećirović.
He further refers to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is one of the additional agreements on human rights that, based on the provisions of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, are directly applicable in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The aforementioned international treaty obliges the signatory states to protect children from all forms of violence, prevent and respond to violence, and ensure support for child victims of violence.
Based on Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the state is obliged to take all necessary legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from any form of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or neglect, abuse or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while being cared for by the parent(s), legal guardian(s) or another responsible person entrusted with the care of the child.
Furthermore, Article 29 of the Convention stipulates that the child’s education should, among other things, be directed towards: “preparing the child for a responsible life in a free community in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, gender equality and friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons of indigenous origin”.
School is a place where children spend a large part of their time in an organized manner during the day, therefore it should take an important role in prevention and protection from all forms of violence. Violence at school is not a new phenomenon, however insufficient information about noticing the signs, analyzing the profile of participants and studying risk factors for the occurrence of violence at school, as well as the lack of a unique attitude of schools towards violence point to serious action by all levels of government with the aim of standardizing and implementing a systematic approach in solving the problem of violence in schools.
Today’s children and young people grow up in a competitive system in which the concept of cooperation has almost been lost, and it has been replaced by a system of constant competition that has led to the increasing occurrence of peer violence, where the “weaker” are mostly the victims of bullying and systemic abuse.
The problem of peer violence that occurs in schools nowadays is very complex and requires a timely multidisciplinary approach and preventive action, and if violence occurs, a quick and timely reaction of everyone from the environment of the child victim of violence, as well as the child who perpetrates the violence, is important. In order for educators to be able to react appropriately when they notice an incidental situation of violence, they should be sufficiently educated in that area in order to prevent violence among students in time.
“We are witnessing that in primary and secondary schools, peer violence is becoming more common. Peer violence refers to events in the wider framework of the school in which individual students or, more often, groups of students, perpetrate permanent violence against their peers or younger children by which that child -inflicting injuries or causing pain and discomfort to the victim of violence There are many classifications of forms of violence among children: physical violence, verbal or emotional violence, economic manipulation and social violence.
The approach to the problem of violence against and among children in schools implies an assessment and comprehensive analysis of the education system in Bosnia and Herzegovina, risk factors, as well as systemic measures to increase children’s safety. In addition to the family, which has a primary role in the prevention of children’s violent behavior, school communities, peers, the wider social community, the media and authorities at all levels have a very important role,” said Bećirović.
This initiative comes after two massacres in Serbia, in which the attackers were a 13-year-old and a 21-year-old, who killed 17 people and wounded several others.