The Growth Of Violence And The Safety Of School Students
Access to safe learning environments is vital at every stage of child’s education from the pre-primary years, during which a child’s brain undergoes most of its development, through to adolescence, when young people are prepared for the contributions they will then make to their communities and country at large. However, a quality education can improve the life chances of individuals themselves and the communities around them. Quality education is strongly linked to improved physical and mental health, lower risks of exploitation such as modern slavery, child labor and armed conflict, greater equality, more peaceful and prosperous societies. Yet the ability to obtain a basic education is currently being jeopardized for millions of children worldwide by a lack of safety experienced in and around the school environment and there is reason to believe the situation is worsening by the day. Nearly 40 million children a year have their education interrupted by natural disasters such as earthquakes and disease outbreaks. The number of child refugees fleeing conflict and extremism, high violence and/or natural disasters is also on the rise.
Violence has probably always been part of the human experience. Its impact can be seen, in various forms, in all parts of the world with the school environment inclusive. Each year, more than a million people lose their lives, and many more suffer non-fatal injuries, as a result of self-inflicted, interpersonal, or collective violence. Overall, violence is among the leading causes of death around the world.
Violence as regards children the school violence is perhaps the most pressing societal issue related to children and youth today. Education stakeholders, parents, teachers, and concerned citizens are constantly raising alarms on the rise of violence and its effect on school children and its acts seems to be plaguing the entirety of the school communities.
Children can be attacked on their way to or from school, be deterred from attending school by real or perceived threats, and are increasingly being attacked within schools by militias, gangs and extremist groups looking to recruit, abduct, indoctrinate, intimidate, or use the school infrastructure itself for military purposes. Attacks on children and schools that are sometimes accompanied with sexual assault are perpetrated by these terrorist. From within schools, violence can be in form of bullying, corporal punishment, and gender-based violence by teachers and fellow pupils remain disturbingly common. A lack of safety in schools can also impact on numbers of trained teachers who may feel unsafe and decide to resign.
Children experience some form of physical, sexual, or psychological violence or neglect. However, being a victim of violence in childhood has lifelong impacts on education, health, and well-being. Exposure to violence can lead to educational underachievement due to cognitive, emotional, and social problems. This is because children who are exposed to violence are more likely to smoke, misuse alcohol, and drugs, and engage in high-risk sexual behavior, they are also more likely to endure a range of illnesses later in life. These include depression, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and HIV.
Experiences of violence, particularly in childhood, can also damage children’s physical and mental health and affect their whole lives. Violence can also affect educational outcomes and children’s potential to lead successful and prosperous lives. Schools are in a unique position to address and prevent violence against children. Not only are schools accountable in ensuring that their premises are safe and protective but they can also take an active role in engaging the community on issues related to violence. This can include violence that takes place in schools, such as physical violence, sexual violence, bullying, and corporal punishment. It can also include types of violence that emerge in the home and community, such as child maltreatment, dating and intimate-partner violence, and elder abuse.
VIOLENCE
The Intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, mal-development, or deprivation.
Violence is a sort of behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something. It is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Violence can also be said to be an extremely forceful actions that are intended to hurt people or are likely to cause damage.
KIDNAPPING AND TERRORISM
Nigeria is facing all sorts of criminal and safety problems, one of which is kidnapping which seem to be very rampant and predominant in the country. Over the last few decades, the act of kidnapping for various reasons has been evidenced in many parts of the country, but was not really a major concern as we have it today.
However, the prevalence of kidnapping in Nigeria has accelerated and it is becoming a major concern, both to local and international visitors that are victims of ruthless kidnappers. Kidnapping is one of the social vices that Nigeria is currently faced with, and from all indications, due to the poor security system in the country, it seems conspicuous that the kidnappers have the upper hand against the law enforcement agencies that have the responsibility to ensure safety, peace and tranquility in the country. The act of kidnapping violates the fundamental rights to freedom of movement and association according to the Nigerian Constitution, and it is punishable under the Nigerian criminal codes and statutes. However, this has not deterred kidnappers but rather has increased the menace in the society and put fear in the minds of citizens.
Terrorism which is the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes has been a major concerned to the entirety of the Nigerian community and has left many with the thoughts of how to overcome the menace.
VIOLENCE AND SCHOOL CHILDREN
Violence against children includes all forms of violence against people under 18 years old whether perpetrated by parents or other caregivers, peers, partners, teacher or strangers.
Violence against children is a public health, human rights, and social problem, with potentially devastating and costly consequences. Globally, levels of violence against children are frightfully high and it is estimated that up to 1 billion children aged 2–17 years, have experienced physical, sexual, or emotional violence or neglect. Violence may take place in homes, orphanages, residential care facilities, on the streets, in the workplace, in prisons and other place of detention and lastly at schools.
It is an established fact that children spend more time in the care of adults in schools and other places of learning than they do anywhere else outside of their homes; because of that it is expected that violence that occur at school should be under investigation for the physical, psychological and social problems arising from that. These consequences can be prompt, as well as latent, and can last for years after the initial violence. The issue of violence is also seen in the tertiary institution especially those students handling their undergraduate projects that are required to go to their case study location to seek for answer inform of questionnaires distributions; this might be very difficult for student especially if their case study location is a violence infested area. Therefore, violence in schools is one of the most visible forms of violence against children it includes physical, psychological and sexual violence and bullying that are related to causes such as gender and social norms and wider structural and contextual factors such as income inequality, deprivation, marginalization and conflict.
Violence is often a hidden and invisible dimension of children’s time in school and it has a significant impact on children’s ability to attend school and learn. The violence children experience within and on the way to school has profound impacts on children’s educational outcomes, participation, and performance in school.
CONCLUSION
Violence can be any form of physical aggression with intention to hurt (corporal punishment and physical bullying) by adults and other children. Violence against children is widespread and must be addressed to improve children’s health and well-being. All children and adolescents could be at risk of school violence but those who are vulnerable because of factors such poverty, social status associated with ethnicity, linguistic or cultural differences and migration or displacement, and disabilities, who are orphans or from households affected by HIV, may be more likely to be targeted.
In schools, the provision of education and organized activities are themselves powerful protection against violence. In addition, it is in these settings that opportunities arise to shape attitudes and norms about the acceptability of violence, alcohol, and drug use, the carrying of weapons onto school grounds and other risks. In turn, preventing violence in the broader society can directly benefit the core aim of schools to educate children, foster high-quality lifelong learning, and empower learners to be responsible global citizens.
Preventing and responding to violence in schools can improve educational outcomes in children and help achieve their educational targets. Many of the life skills taught in violence prevention, such as communication, managing emotions, resolving conflicts and solving problems, are the same skills that can help children succeed in school and that can protect against other issues that affect learning, such as alcohol and drug use. Reducing violence and its negative consequences, for example absenteeism, lack of concentration, or school dropout, can have positive consequences on learning. Experiencing violence can also be a reason for demonstrating challenging behavior which hinders their learning. These challenges prevent teachers from carrying out their roles effectively.
Source: https://uniprojectmaterials.com
