The issue of violence has received the attention of parents, educators, government and non- governmental organizations worldwide. In recent years there have been reports of crimes and violent acts committed by learners both in developed and developing countries especially in countries like Brazil, Columbia, Ethiopia, Finland, Japan, Jordan, Israel, Norway, Malaysia, South Africa and USA (Benbenishty & Astor, 2008:59). There are some degrees of similarity in cases of school-based violence around the world and at the same time these cases are different depending on culture and country of focus. Recently the near regular occurrence of shootings in American schools have taken the world by surprise and further reinvigorated the interest of researchers and policy makers on issues of school-based violence (Metzl & MacLeish, 2015; Beland & Kim, 2016; Kellner, 2015).
Miller and Kraus (2008:16-17) discover that for a learner to engage in a violent act there has to be the presence of some risk factors that increase the chances of learners’ perpetration of violent acts. They identify five risk factors for perpetration of violence among learners in the United States of America; these factors include substance abuse, delinquent and aggressive behaviours, overly lax, negative attitudes toward schooling, barbarous disciplinary practices, family violence and association with antisocial peers. Learners are highly at risk to engage in School Based Violence when they have weak associational ties with non-delinquent peers, strong associational ties with delinquent peers; having gang membership and also attending a school with high prevalence of gangs, having been a victim of a violent crime, and learners residing in neighbourhood with high rates of crime. The more a learner is exposed to these risk factors the more their chances to engage in violent acts and it requires efforts from learners themselves, the family, the school and the community to minimize the influence of these risk factors.
A study conducted by Steddgen & Ewen (2007:87) on “Educators as Victims of School Violence – The Influence of Strain and School Culture” which involved 399 Luxembourg secondary school educators reveal that educators are also victimized by school-based violence because of class orientated strain, time pressure and the quality of school environment. This is an indication that the issue of school-based violence is dynamic and cut across board, everyone within the school environment could be victims.
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Further still, some studies indicate that African schools have become an arena for violence, and some scholars are paying attention to the issue of violence in schools in African countries and this is due to the increase in school related violent acts in the continent (Mutto et al., 2009; Osadebe, 2013; Egbochuku, 2007). Learners are engaged in criminal acts and aggressive behaviours that in turn harm the school environment and inhibit educational development. Acts such as bullying, corporal punishment, verbal abuse and harassment, and criminal behaviour, including assault, gender-based violence, arson, and murder – all which may occur in hallways, school bathrooms, classrooms or school yards instils fear in both learners and educators. Physical punishment is a common phenomenon in African homes and school, learners are familiar to slaps, whips and canes so they find it normal when educators punish them using similar methods (Naong, 2007; Muneja, 2013). Reporting school violence is still an issue in most African countries due to the fear of repercussions or being stigmatized, thus making the problem so rampant and a silent one in some countries (Naong, 2007).
The northern part of Uganda has been in the state of war for some years; this violent atmosphere has led to the normalization of violence in the community and has also increased the incidences of violence in schools located in the area (Mutto et al., 2009). The issue of school-based violence is also common in Nigeria, where it is reported that these violent acts are caused by the prevalence of cultism in the country, the watching of violent television programmes by children, drugs and alcohol abuse, children having easy access to guns and other weapons, and poor leadership by elders (Osadebe, 2013).
A study by Ademola et al.., (2011:30-32) on the “Experience and Perpetration of Violent Behaviours among Secondary School Learners in Ibadan” shows the prevalence of psychological, sexual and physical violence in Nigerian schools. The study involved 1366 male and female learners from 6 public schools in Ibadan Oyo state. The findings from the study show that 97.9% of learners have experienced physical violence, 77.6% have experienced psychological violence and 34.9% have experienced sexual violence. Learners in this study reported to have encountered violent acts such as rape, slapping, unwanted touches of private body parts such as breasts and being belittled. Violent acts like bullying have also been reported in Nigeria, a study by Egbochuku (2007:66) shows that bullying in school has spread especially in government schools than in private schools. Egbochukwu (2007) further emphasizes that findings from schools located in Benin City, Edo state reveal that 78% of school children have experienced bullying in school premises whereby 71% lashed out at others. The study also reveals that boys were more likely to be perpetrators and victims of bullying than girls. Bullying
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denies a learner’s right to learn in a safe environment free of fear and it has lifelong negative consequences on both perpetrators and victims.
Learners are more at risk of sexual violence on their way to school and even in the school premises. The perpetrators of these acts are peers, educators and even outsiders. Although female learners are more at risk, male learners become victims too. Ruto (2009) conducted a study in Kenya on Sexual abuse in schools. In her study, it was found that in every 100 learners, 58 of them have been sexually harassed, and an additional 29% of boys and 24% of girls have been forced into unwanted sex. Another study carried out in Ghana, Zimbabwe, and Malawi by Leach and Machakanja (2000) shows that female learners experience violence in the form of sexual propositions by older male learners and educators. The use of sexually explicit language creates a hostile school environment for those learners.