On 14 April 2023, the Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina invited Dr Darjo Felda, the Minister of Education, for a meeting. In their talks they devoted special attention to violence among young people in schools that brings numerous negative consequences for individuals, the school community, and society as a whole. They agreed that the first step is raising awareness about this unacceptable behaviour which is still unfortunately (too) often swept under the rug. In the light of the recent publicly exposed peer violence in Celje, Ombudsman Svetina stressed that zero tolerance must be established towards such violence and that curbing it is our common responsibility. “Teachers, professional workers in schools, and other adults working with children must be empowered for the timely recognition of peer violence that includes bullying, tormenting, insulting, and social exclusion of weaker children by the stronger. It is important that adults respond and know how to act if young people find themselves the target of peer or online violence. Violence must be immediately reported and sanctioned, since it is an inadmissible, harmful, and criminal act that cannot be only observed in silence. It is important that we listen to the victim, protect them, and offer support. We should understand that violence is always the fault of those who cause it, regardless of what the victim has said, done or has not done. It is certainly crucial for the prevention and addressing of violence that the victims receive support in proceedings,” Svetina pointed out at the meeting.

During the pandemic, interaction between young people moved into cyberspace, with which the social platforms and networks saw a boom in violent, hostile, and indecent communication. “It appears that in our race for attention, in tendentious posts, collecting likes, and writing of unacceptable comments, we as a society lost the compass and failed the examination of values, such as tolerance, empathy, and humanity. We need to understand that cyber violence is not something innocent and is no more acceptable than violence in the real world, since it can push the victim into distress leading to depression, lack of confidence, isolation, and self-harm. Cyber violence must not be tolerated and minimised. It is our duty to educate children and young people about the traps and dangers on the internet and social networks,” emphasised the Human Rights Ombudsman.

At the meeting, Ombudsman Svetina also invited the minister to prepare concrete programmes for the training of teachers and other school employees in recognising peer violence and how to appropriately and effectively respond to cases of violence. The Ombudsman believes that schools should devote more time to discussing the inadmissibility of peer violence with children.