BIC – Bullying in Institutional Care

Hintergrund

According to the Unicef Report 2014 "Hidden in plain sight. A statistical analysis of violence against children" the phenomenon remains still largely undocumented and underreported because some forms of violence are socially accepted, condoned or not perceived as violence. Punishment and coercion cultures are largely diffused worldwide and at European level, especially in residential care settings. In many cases victims are too young or too vulnerable to express and protect themselves and often there is a lack of an appropriate complaint system easy to access by children. According to the UN Committee Concluding Observations addressed to IT, BG, RO and GR the lack of adequate data because of the lack of structured collection data systems are underlined; consequently it is not possible to define an adequate monitoring system on the phenomenon. In spite of increasing violence against children, the legal system often fails to respond adequately, favouring disciplinary measures to psycho-educative measures.

According to UN World Report on Violence against Children, 2006, children in institutions find themselves at a higher risk of exploitation, abuse and neglect, in contexts at high risk of bullying: "there is a lack of systematic research or documentation on the types or prevalence of violence experienced by children in institutions. Children most at risk for maltreatment and abuse are children with poor family backgrounds, with history of parental abuse or neglect, with disabilities, with ethno cultural minority status, children who receive physical punishment without learning strategies to cope with anger".

Zielsetzung

The General Objective is to contribute to preventing and combating bullying in residential care settings through children empowerment and by encouraging greater collaboration between peers in five Countries (IT, BG, RO, GR, FR).

The Specific Objective is to implement the anti-bullying BIC program in residential care settings in order to make those places safer. Detailed goals are: reducing existing bullying, preventing its development, achieving better peer relations.

BIC, based on a preliminary field research as well as on existing good practices, will be founded on three pillars:

1. Standardization and high customization of the service provided: definition of a sound methodology for easy tailoring of the anti-bullying BIC program for all kind of alternative care settings.
2. Experiencing a non­violent environment by the care staff: improvement of skills and deeper understanding of the advantages of a non-coercive approach in managing concrete bullying situations.
3. Empowerment of children in alternative care with the intention of enhancing the internal self-help in peers interaction.