Social and Gender Norms Related to Violence in Schools – Results of a Regional Research

Social norms influencing violence in schools, its forms, and prevalence are under-researched in South-Eastern Europe. In order to contribute to improved evidence, the Child Protection Hub has launched regional research in 2020 in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Moldova, Romania and Serbia. The research methodology, developed by the International Institute for Child Rights and Development, was highly participatory and explored the forms of violence children experience in and around schools, its prevalence, but also what social norms are influencing these forms. Children also discussed are factors of resilience against violence. This research was done despite the COVID-19 pandemic: researchers worked around school closures, lockdowns, etc. to speak and discuss with children in a safe environment.

During this half-day event, we will be presenting the main findings of this large undertaking at an online conference. The national reports, as well as a regional synthesis, will be made available for participants as well. All speakers will follow the format of TED talks, i.e. speaking for a maximum of 15 minutes, in order to tell the audience about their findings. There will be three sessions of 3 presentations, followed by Q and A, during which the audience can pose questions.  Interpretation will be provided into Serbo-Croatian, Romanian, Bulgarian and Albanian languages and live captioning will be included.