World Vision Romania: More than 9 out of 10 village children, victims of bullying in schools last year

  Over 93% of children in rural areas have suffered at least one bullying situation at school in 2024, World Vision Romania reported on Thursday.On the occasion of the International School Day of Non-Violence and Peace, the foundation announces the launch, starting in February, of a comprehensive program against school violence, worth 900,000 EUR. It includes 35 projects funded under the SAVE (School Anti-Violence Ecosystem) program, the foundation said in a press release.Verbal violence is the main form of violence that children suffer in the school environment, according to the report "Child well-being in rural areas". Around a third (31%) of situations in which a child was publicly humiliated or embarrassed in front of classmates had the teacher as the "aggressor", shows the report."43% of parents and 29% of children say that no action was taken after the bullying was reported. 40% of middle school and high school students don't know if their school has a school counselor. 37% of teachers feel little or not at all trained to identify children who are victims of violence. In the case of acts of aggression that take place right at school, only 45% of teachers feel that they 'know what to do'," the cited source mentions.The 35 projects are supported by grants worth between 15,000 EUR and 30,000 RON, co-financed by the European Union, managed by World Vision Romania Foundation and implemented by 35 NGOs from 20 counties of the country. The projects were selected in 2024 and the NGOs received specialized training."We already know that, if they notice a case of abuse, most students (more than half) would talk to the head teacher, a third would talk to close colleagues or the school principal and only a quarter would talk to parents. The school is the place where children need to feel safe and secure, to know that they are listened to and understood when they have difficulties. It is essential to build an educational environment based on respect, empathy and rapid intervention, where every child can develop without fear of being bullied or humiliated. In schools, it is necessary to have teams of specialists to support teachers and help create a safe ecosystem where students have a healthy lifestyle and are protected from any form of violence," said the executive director of World Vision Romania, Mihaela Nabar.The projects funded under the SAVE program are being carried out at all levels of education, World Vision reports. 100,000 people will benefit from these projects, most of them children, but also parents, school staff or experts and specialists from institutions and organizations relevant to education and child protection.The funded projects propose activities to prevent and combat various forms of violence: violence in general (24 projects), bullying (10 projects), cyberbullying/online violence (4 projects), gender-based violence (3 projects), violence against children with special educational needs (1 project), violence against children with health problems (1 project).The activities proposed in schools by funded NGOs include both classic information and training activities (workshops, lessons, meetings with parents, etc.), as well as interactive and innovative activities: art exhibitions (art-voice, drawings/works); contests of videos, slogans, drawings/works; theater (puppet theater, forum theater, social theater); virtual reality tools; development of educational platforms; study visits.World Vision Romania will launch in 2025 and 2026 new calls for 30 projects, with grants worth 5,000 EUR, on similar themes. The list of selected projects as well as details about the calls for projects are available on the SAVE (School Anti-Violence Ecosystem) program website: https://worldvision.ro/proiect-save/.