Coexistence at school is disturbed when episodes of violence and harassment occur in the classroom and in educational establishments. Occasionally they are found out about, but frequently they remain latent and concealed, making it hard to eradicate them. To help raise awareness and sensitise people about violence such as this and in order to encourage measures to prevent and correct conflicts that take place at school, the Office of the Ombudsman drew up and made public nationwide case studies on the subject in 2000 and in 2006.
To give continuity to this endeavour, throughout last year, own-initiative inquiries were launched and brought before the educational authorities of the State and of the Autonomous Communities, and before the Juvenile Prosecution Service and the Security Forces, in order to find out the current impact of the problem. The aim of these inquiries is to compile information about the action guidelines and experience in dealing with this problem that the educational authorities and others with responsibility in the protection of minors provide, and to collaborate in determining more effective policies and strategies to prevent and correct violence at school.
The information requested has been received and work has began on a new case study, which will be made public in the next few months, updating the results of the previous studies and proposing the most efficient strategies and guidelines for excluding violence and harassment from the educational sphere.
The study will include, in addition to the information cited, the data recently published by Save the Children and by the foundations Fundación ANAR and Fundación Mutua Madrileña, which will be extraordinarily useful.
