Greece Launches Campaign to Tackle Spike in School Violence

Greece on Tuesday launched a national campaign to tackle school violence and bullying after several incidents recently shocked public opinion.

“It is a comprehensive plan which speaks openly about the problem. We cannot sweep it under the rug. It exists,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said launching the campaign at a high school where he discussed the problem with students and teachers.

“[The problem] concerns all of us, not only the state. It concerns all the institutions, it concerns the church, it concerns the parents, the parents’ associations. We must first recognize it and then present an overall plan,” Mitsotakis underlined.

The prime minister emphasized that behind bullying lies an intolerance of diversity. Referring to the protocol for dealing with it, he stated: “The word ‘protocol’ has been a bit abused lately. But protocols are nothing more than specific procedures, in which experts show us what should we do if this incident occurs.”

School violence in Greece is turning nastier and more frequent

School violence in Greece is turning nastier and more frequent, with cases making headlines every week. According to official figures, between January and August 2023, the number of minors arrested for forming a criminal gang rose by 80 percent compared to the year before, for causing grievous bodily harm by 33 percent, for theft by 46 percent and for muggings by 34 percent.

A study in March 2023 supervised by the European Antibullying Network found that one in three Greek school children among nearly 3,000 polled had suffered bullying — mainly at the ages of 13 and 14, and primarily directed at girls, migrants and those from single-parent families.

One in six also said they felt their school was not providing adequate instruction against bullying. Much of the violence goes unreported.

Last week a fight between students on Corfu resulted in injuries. One of the students attacked others with a knife and wounded a passer-by who attempted to stop him.

Last November a video of school violence shocked public opinion in Greece and sparked new calls for the tightening of legislation concerning violence between minors.

The video from an Athens high school shows a group of female students beating their classmates. The violent incident occurred recently in Peristeri, a western suburb of the Greek capital.

In June 2023, eight minors were convicted of gang raping a 15-year-old boy in the western Athens district of Ilion.

New tougher rules to tackle school violence

The Minister of Education Kyriakos Pierrakakis announced that a platform for named complaints from students and parents is opening today and described the procedure for making the complaints and the operation of the platform.

Presenting the initiative for new school operating regulations, Pierrakakis said that it would be fully implemented in September and that it will have to be signed by the student’s parents.

Among the new rules to be implemented is the option of a five-day suspension for a student involved in violence. Also, the cost of the damage to school property caused by a student will be borne by the offender’s family.