We know that violence in all of its forms can have severe impacts and long-lasting consequences on learners’ physical and mental health, and in turn their education outcomes. Because of its impact on learning, school violence including bullying and cyberbullying is not only a children’s rights issue. It carries significant costs for education systems if left unaddressed.
As part of its efforts to foster safe learning environments for all learners and to address and prevent bullying, cyberbullying and other forms of school violence, UNESCO supported Friends and the World Anti-Bullying Forum to bring diverse youth together to speak about online safety and bullying, and to amplify their voices.
On the occasion of Safer Internet Day, UNESCO joins its partners and brings to light young people’s recommendations to adults, legislators and decision-makers.
Youth online safety recommendations
Join forces with children and youth:
- Develop and spread online safety initiatives by youth for youth.
- Work across generations, many perspectives are needed to battle the threats online.
Update the educational system’s online responsibilities:
- Teach general skills such as consent and empathy, skills needed in all environments and aspects of life today.
- Teach specific skills for online environments and make sure they are updated/contemporary.
- Work together with learners to understand the school climate. Adults will never be able to cover and understand what is going on, which goes for both off- and online.
- Make sure schools take responsibility for what happens online – as what happens online affects the environments fostered at school.
- Schools need to work together with guardians to create awareness about what risks young people face in online spaces.
- Encourage teachers and schools to make online rules together with learners.
Engage trusted adults:
- Turning to a friend is often the first option for many children and youth. Adults need tools to understand how to engage in the online aspects of children’s lives. They have to know enough to be able to give guidance.
- Not everyone has a trusted adult at home to confide in. Therefore, there needs to be support provided by trusted adults in schools, sports clubs and helplines.
Time for tech to level the playing field:
- Tech companies need to take full responsibility for the effect they have on young people and our community.
- Create algorithms that support self-love instead of bullying, harassment, and violence.
- We urge these prominent companies to create algorithms and tools that enable young people to easily opt out of content that is detrimental to their well-being.
- Furthermore, we ask that these companies create environments and embed resources and support systems that protect young people from bullying, harassment, and violence.
- Remain and increase transparency on how data, particularly of young users is being used.
- Work together with legislators to create a centralized regulatory framework. Cyberbullying is innovative, it needs to be addressed with force.
These recommendations by youth align with a World Health Organization report entitled What works to prevent online violence against children. The report demonstrated the importance of providing school-based curricula directed at children and parents, and life skills such as assertiveness, empathy, problem-solving and help seeking, among others. For example, comprehensive sexuality education was shown to be an effective strategy to reduce instances of physical and sexual harm, in particular partner violence and homophobic bullying.
Source: unesco
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