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- Ελληνικά
In relation to the current debate on the issue of violence and delinquency in schools, as well as extreme reports of incidents of sexual abuse, the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth (MESY) clarifies the following:
[*]Violence occurring in the school environment is a phenomenon found in the wider society. The public school, through the measures it implements from pre-school age and at all levels of education, on the basis of specific policies, empowers pupils to develop appropriate attitudes so that they can avoid involvement in any incidents of violence and delinquency. [*]The focus on individual incidents of violence, which have not yet been investigated, and the way in which they are presented, creates the wrong impression, not only for the public school but also for the children themselves and their families, which hampers the effort to effectively implement the above measures and policies. The student population in public schools in Cyprus exceeds 110 thousand and focusing on isolated incidents does not contribute to the rational management of the issue. [*]Incidents of violence occurring in the school environment are, as a rule, managed directly by the school and the competent services of the Ministry of Education, on the basis of relevant protocols, which are continuously evaluated and updated. Depending on the individual case, other State services are also activated, such as the local police station, the special investigation team of the Police Headquarters, the YKAN, the Social Welfare Services, "The Children's Home", the Mental Health Services and the Ministry of Justice. Reports that schools are out of control in dealing with violence are not borne out by official evidence from the agencies involved nor do they convey the true dimension of the issue. [*]In recent years there has been an increase in reports of incidents of sexual abuse of children in the family and in the wider community. To a very large extent, these incidents do not take place in schools. Sexual abuse is different and needs to be separated from the offending behaviours found in our schools and even in wider society. [*]Based on official statistics, it is found that schools and teachers are the second largest group of forwarding reports of sexual violence incidents to the police for referral to the relevant agency, which is "The Children's Home", after non-offending parents or other non-offending family members. This, demonstrates the crucial role of the school in disclosing such incidents. [*]The CPSO's goal remains a safe school for all. To this end, we have already established and are promoting, in cooperation with all stakeholders, a series of pedagogical measures. We continue the intensive effort we have started to effectively tackle violence and delinquency and call on all stakeholders and the whole of civil society to contribute in this direction. [*]Youth violence and delinquency, a phenomenon that has unfortunately reached dangerous proportions in recent years, cannot be downplayed or ignored. An effective response to this phenomenon requires the implementation of long-term planning based on scientific approaches and synergies. Under no circumstances should this important issue be subject to debate or exploited for petty political purposes.
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