According to UNESCO, school violence is a major problem. Its report, Behind the numbers: ending school violence and bullying, published in 2019, shows that more than one in three students (36%) has been involved in a physical fight with another student, and almost one in three (32.4%) has been physically attacked at least once in 2018.

Four years later, and after the significant impact of the Covid-19 pandemic quarantine, where the children stayed at home, violence and bullying among minors have multiplied alarmingly inside and outside schools throughout the region.

Due to the increase of these incidents in Southeast Europe, BIRN has decided to launch an investigation, the first in the region, to address the issue and raise awareness.

The key things we want to know:

• Have your children/pupils used/suffered violence, and in what way?
• Was the violence they used/suffered recognized properly?
• How did you/the school handle the violent incident?
• Are there procedures in your school for reporting incidents of violence?
• Is school violence a severe problem in your country?

What types of violence are we interested to hear about?

• Physical
• Psychological
• Sexual
• Verbal
• Bullying
• Cyberbullying
• Self-harm

Things to note:

We will not publish any documents or names without prior consent and we do not plan to use specific examples, but rather to show more general, systemic problems. Your responses are secure and encrypted.

Your stories will be used to help us with an ongoing investigation.

How to take part?

To submit your experience, all you need to do is fill out this form. The questionnaire is available in English, but also in Albanian, Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin/Serbian, Turkish, Greek and Macedonian.

You can also contact us via email: readerstories@birn.eu.com.

Or you can reach us on social media:

FB: @balkaninsight

TW: @balkaninsight

We’ll need to receive your application by midnight, May 29.