violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

In Croatia, a campaign for ‘Safe and Enabling’ schoolsachieves early resultsIn the spring of 2004, after broad consultations with Government ministries, civil societyorganisations and others, UNICEF launched a five-phase campaign ‘For a Safe andEnabling School Environment’ in Croatia. Before the launch, a national survey coveringstudents, parents and teachers established baseline data on violence in schools. Thecampaign was scheduled to last for 18 months. After 12 months, an evaluation foundthat it was surpassing expectations.144Violence against children in schools and educational settingsMore than 4,500 teachers, twice the number targeted, had received training in nonviolentmethods of teaching, discipline and intervention in violence among children.The campaign had covered 121 schools including more than 60,000 children, 20%more than targeted, and this had been achieved with 15% less than the projectedbudget. More than 92% of Croatian citizens had become aware of the campaign, whilemore than 80% of funding was now coming from individual donors and corporationswithin Croatia. Most importantly, there had been significant decreases in some formsof violence and increased awareness of others. For example, children and teachers werebetter able to recognise all forms of bullying and better prepared to stop it. More than80% of students knew the rules against school violence, and knew of an adult theycould turn to for help.There were, however, challenges ahead. Teachers felt they were more competent todeal with violence but, while students felt safer, they still did not consider that schoolsprovided them with enough protection against violence. The evaluation concluded thatthere was need for more parent involvement and for the strengthening of peer supportfor non-violence among students. 185and protection (Bulgaria, Estonia, Indonesia,the Netherlands), or methods for integratinghuman rights and non-violence into theschool curriculum (Brazil and the Seychelles).While these efforts are all moving in the rightdirection, clearly more radical and sustainedimprovements in teacher training for non-violenceare needed.The Participation of childrenInvolving children in developing and implementingprogrammes is important in buildingpersonal knowledge, attitudes and skills,ensuring programme relevance and ownership,and ultimately in improving programme outcomes.186,187 A study by the United KingdomDepartment for International Development