Violence must be severely punished

(novilist.hr)

The topic of peer violence is increasingly present in the public - it is no longer an isolated incident that is resolved within the four walls of the school, but a mirror of a society that is finding it increasingly difficult to control its own impulses. (…) Children today do not only insult with words - they humiliate, ridicule and exclude with a persistence that leaves deep traces. The example of the boy who destroyed things and drew offensive symbols on his clothes is not an exception, but a symptom of the environment in which we live. What is even more worrying is that the violence does not stop when classes end. It moves to social networks, where it becomes permanent and public. Children spend hours online, and communication in these virtual spaces is often more brutal than in reality. Threats, mockery, sharing private photos - all this takes on proportions that adults often underestimate. The consequences are serious: from withdrawal and avoiding school to anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts. The digital trail of violence, unlike in the school hallway, is not easily erased.

It is also true that this has always been the case, we all remember from our classrooms the school "hooligans" who teased their colleagues and often insulted them. But today, the trace on the Internet is eternal, and this is an additional burden. Experts from the Polyclinic for the Protection of Children and Youth of the City of Zagreb rightly warn that the cause cannot be reduced to "bad children" alone. It is a complex combination of influences - from the digital culture that normalizes rudeness, to the family and the system, primarily the schools themselves, which are late in reacting. Children today grow up in a world of speed and instant gratification, without enough opportunities to learn to deal with frustration. When this is added to the lack of consistent adult reactions, we get a space in which violence becomes an acceptable pattern of behavior. That is, frequent.

The problem is that the system often reacts only after the damage has already been done. Workshops and declaratory judgments are not enough if there are no concrete measures and clear consequences. Children need to know that there is a limit, but also that there is support. Prevention, as experts point out, must not begin at the moment when a child is already suffering violence, but much earlier - through the systematic development of emotional and social skills. The role of parents in this is irreplaceable, but also demanding. Recognizing changes in a child's behavior is only the first step; it is much more difficult to react calmly and constructively. It is important to understand that help is not reserved only for victims - perpetrators, as well as bystanders, are part of the same circle.

However, there have been countless examples of juvenile violence in recent times - let's just look at the example of Vjesnik, which, according to still unfinalized verdicts, was set on fire by minors who had "no better thing to do". The damage was enormous, and it is still being repaired. Not to mention the latest example of minors who were guilty of mass intimidation of the public with anonymous reports of bombs in schools, shopping malls, and even hospitals. They will receive the most severe charges of terrorism - they will ruin their lives with this "game" that is not at all harmless. This is a criminal offense for which a sentence of one to eight years in prison is prescribed. In addition to spreading fear, they also caused great financial damage to the institutions and companies they threatened. One of them is only 15 years old, and three young people who connected with each other sent as many as 220 threatening emails.

It all sounds like a “game” because all three were participants in various gaming chats, and it was in these groups, although the participants did not know each other's names, but hid under nicknames, that the ideas about sending threatening emails were born. Although the ideas about sending emails to minors were described as some kind of challenge, the outcome is far from a game, and minors who were just typing something stupid in the dark of their room could end their young lives in prison with terrorism convictions. Unfortunately, it is very likely that they will end up with the most serious charges in order to become role models for others - so that other children do not play with such dangerous “challenges”. And the same is true of peer violence in schools - society must deal with these phenomena, and the perpetrators will start receiving increasingly severe punishments. The goal is to show that violence never pays.