After a series of tragic and incredible examples of peer violence, this phenomenon was recorded in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s society. According to her mother, a minor girl from Prokosović was a victim of peer violence for a long period of time, and the situation culminated to such an extent that the child tried to take her own life in the previous days. The tragedy was prevented, the school is closing itself off from the case, and the institutions are on the move, writes Federalna.ba.
The mother first suspected that something was going on at school when her thirteen-year-old daughter refused to go on an excursion. This was followed by excuses for not going to class. It will turn out that the reasons were abusive messages on social networks directed at her little girl no less than from her peers in the class.
“Today it’s not just about my child. Tomorrow will be anyone’s. This has to stop! The messages are very bad, they are mean. If they are able to write such messages, imagine what she was going through at school,” the girl’s mother tells Federalna.
The messages are, however, only the tip of the iceberg because months of psychological and physical abuse are hidden behind them, says the mother. Insults at the expense of the family, appearance, behavior, but also threats led to the fact that the girl tried to harm herself. The school, which apart from the family should be a safe place to grow up, says that the messages were not sent during class time, they are not considered responsible for taking anything, but still, after the parents exerted pressure and alerted the institutions, a parents’ meeting was called.
“A parents’ meeting was called with all parents and students who participated in the correspondence that was established. Two Lukavac police inspectors also participated,” says Damir Turkić, director of the Prokosovići Elementary School.
“My husband, my little girl and I entered the Prokosovići Elementary School for a meeting where the parents of the girl who was the main character in this incident were also sitting. We sat down, they got up, laughed at us and left because they had the support of director Damir Turkić,” says the girl’s mother.
The case was reported to the Ministry of Interior of Tuzla Canton, but also to the Center for Social Work, in which they say that it is too early to characterize it as peer violence because, according to them, it is necessary to find the causes. A question for the profession, but also for the general public: does a tragedy have to happen in order for everyone in the chain to react in a timely manner?
“We are all more concerned with the material needs of children than with their emotional or psychological needs. Somewhere, we need to look for opportunities to meet those needs,” points out Amira Hodžić, director of the Lukavac Center for Social Work.
This is not the only case of peer violence in this area, judging by the data of the Education Center of Tuzla Canton. They say that in the last five years there has been an increase in the inappropriate behavior of minors. However, they say everything starts in the family.
“The family should influence their child as much as possible, i.e. minors through conversation and if you notice that their child is not behaving in accordance with the behavior of other peers, they should inform the Center for Social Work,” says Faruk Durmić, director of the Educational Center of Tuzla Canton.
