Behind the Numbers: Ending School Violence and Bullying

School-related violence in all its forms, including bullying, is an infringement of children’s and adolescents’ rights to education and health and well-being. No country can achieve inclusive and equitable quality education for all if learners experience violence in school.
This report provides an overview of the most up-to-date evidence on school violence and bullying. It includes global and regional prevalence and trends, factors that influence vulnerability to school violence and bullying, and consequences. The publication brings together for the first time in one place a wealth of quantitative data from two large-scale international surveys: the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) and the Health Behaviour in Schoolaged Children (HBSC) study. The surveys cover 144 countries and territories in all regions of the world, and from a wide range of other global and regional surveys. The publication also includes an analysis of factors that contribute to effective national responses, based on a series of case studies commissioned by UNESCO of countries that have succeeded in reducing the prevalence of school violence and bullying or have maintained low levels of school violence over time.