Peer violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina is on the rise and teaching staff is poorly prepared for combatting this type of violence in educational institutions, said the Institution of Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Human Rights Ombudsman Institution issued a statement on Monday based on a number of citizens’ complaints and continuous monitoring of media reports on current developments in the country, warning about the increasing trend of the peer violence.

The ombudsmen noticed that the bullying in schools is widespread but mostly remains hidden, leaving negative repercussions on children, their learning process and, thus, the future of society in general.

“Ombudsmen therefore deem it is necessary to establish clear, defined rules of behaviour in schools, strengthen the role of psychiatrists and social workers, introduce the prevention measures, encourage the reporting on peer violence among both children and teaching staff, and to develop and implement continuous training on peer violence for all those involved in work with children,” said the Human Rights Ombudsman Institution.

The Institution of Human Rights Ombudsman/Ombudsmen of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the country's UN-accredited national human rights institution, created by law in 2004. Its ombudsman's Child Rights Section is a member of the Children's Ombudsman network.

The peer violence includes a wide spectrum of aggressive behaviours among children ranging from the unacceptable expression of anger or frustrations to serious incidents with use of the weapon. The ombudsmen expressed a special concern over the cases of violence when they are recorded and the videos distributed on social networks, which leads to additional traumatizing of victims and violation of their privacy.