Section 3 Responsibilities and Rights

7/29/2019 Section 3 Responsibilities and Rights

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VISTA/VISTOP

School Bullying and Violence:Taking Action

Project 129352-CP-1-2006-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21

www.vistop.org

Section 3: Responsibilities and Rights

Chapter 3.1: Ethical Issues and Childrens Rights

Dobrinka Chankova1, Tanya Poshtova1, Gie Deboutte2 and Stephen Minton31Bulgaria 2Belgium 3Ireland

Chapter 3.2: Young People and Crime

Dobrinka Chankova and Tanya Poshtova, Bulgaria

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VISTA/VISTOP School Bullying and Violence: Taking ActionProject 129352-CP-1-2006-1-DE-COMENIUS-C21www.vistop.org

Cowie, H., Jennifer, D., Chankova, D., Poshtova, T., Deklerck, J., Deboutte, G., Ertesvg, S. K.,Samuelsen, A. S., O'Moore, M., Minton, S. J., Ortega, R. & Sanchez, V. (2006)

Responsibilities and Rights

For the Chapters in this Section, we consider

the concept of human rights with particular

reference to the rights of the child and recent

policies and legislation. We draw upon the UN

Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)

as well as the Council of Europe's European

Charter for Democratic Schools Without

Violence (2004), designed by young peoplethemselves. We acknowledge that the legal

system has both a positive and a negative

impact; on the one hand, it acknowledges the

rights of young people but on the other, it

imposes restrictions on rights as well as

obligations. We consider how law and

children's rights are inter-related and we

explore the concept of justice as both moral

order and a source of law.

In Chapter 3.1, we explore the principles that

promote ethical and lawful behaviour among

young people and strategies for raising moral

standards at school. Key concepts are

explored including, the basic concepts of

ethics, law and children's rights. The Chapter

offers material for promoting ethical and lawful

behaviour among children and young people

and strategies for raising pupils' awareness of

moral standards at school.

It is widely recognized that the focus of young

people and crime should be on the prevention

of offending and re-offending. In this respect,

identification and assessment of risk factors as

well as an appreciation of protective factors

have a high priority. Reducing the impact of,

or exposure to risk factors, reducing chain

reactions to negative experiences, promoting

self-esteem and achievements and providing

positive relationships and new opportunities,

all of these could be the contribution of school

education and environment for the prevention

of youth offending. In Chapter 3.2, we focus

on young people and crime, and consider the

basic concepts of youth offending and

punishment. The Chapter offers ideas and

suggestions for promoting lawful behaviour

among children and young people and

strategies for crime prevention at school.

Ethical Issues and

Childrens Rights

Objectives of Chapter 3.1

To be familiar with basic concepts ofethics, law and childrens rights

To be prepared to promote ethical andlawful behaviour among youth

To consider strategies for raisingstudents awareness of moral

standards at school

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Facilitation skills to bedeveloped through this

Chapter

Knowledge and understanding of:

the way to design improvement plansfor individual pupils, groups and the

school as a whole the methods to include pupils opinions

in any decision about their education

the way to raise moral standards in aschool

Personal qualities and attributes include:

the ability to influence the ethos in aschool and effect and sustain change

there

a good understanding of and ability tomodel effective behaviour

management strategies

the ability to facilitate and value pupilsopinions about their own education.

Pre-chapter reading

Freeman, M. (Ed.). (1996). Childrens rights: A

comparative perspective. Aldershots:

Dartmouth.

Jacob-Timm, S., & Hartshorne, T. S. (1998).

Ethics and law for school psychologists (3rd

ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Kohlberg, L. (1981). The philosophy of moral

development. New York: Harper & Row.

Koocher, G., & Keith-Spiegel, P. (1990).

Children, ethics, and the law: Professional

issues and cases. Lincoln, NE: University of

Nebraska Press.

Summary of current

thinking about ethical

issues and childrens rights

Ethics

a ) D e f i n i t i o n

Ethics a system of moral principles, rules of

conduct (Hornby, 1988); a branch of

philosophy concerned with the systematic

study of human values. It involves the study

of theories of conduct and goodness, and of

the meanings of moral terms (Norton, 1994).

Ethos means a moral mentality of a nation,

culture or an epoch; code of values by which a

group of society lives. The ethical doctrines are

as ancient as human culture. They have their

roots in the major religions. The European

ethics was founded by ancient Greek and

Roman philosophers Plato, Epicure, Seneca,

by Christian philosophers Augustine, Thomas

Aquinas, and by new time philosophers

Monten, Pascal and Kant.

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b ) M o r a l i t y

Morality comes from mos, mores (lat.)

temperament, customs; a shared set of

nonmaterial values, such as fairness, truth and

compassion the pursuit of which constitutes

one aim of community life; a way of life

involving a code of behaviour(Norton, 1994).

Morality is spontaneously created. Every

community has its own customs and creates

its own traditions. The expected behaviour is

characterized as good and beneficial while the

behaviour deviating from the expectations is

bad and harmful. Customs are a natural form

of a social system (order) the observing of

which is under the control of the common

consent. The customs requirements are

directed at everyone and do not originate

concretely from anybody. A fundamental factor

for the fulfilment of these moral instructions is

consent, not coercion (Gerdjikov & Dobreva,

2002).

c ) V a l u e

Value is a thing we esteem. In spite of the

differences in understanding of moral values

throughout different epochs, mankind has

established traditions in their universal

application and interpretation into the

language of a given historic time. Communities

simultaneously develop, revalue and give them

a new meaning. In times of crisis of a value

system leading minds call on the universal

value good, freedom, duty, justice,

truth, beauty, welfare, happiness. Even to

this day Kants insight into value as something

due, as an ideal norm man chooses freely to

follow, is valid. Valuable things are not

material objects. With our sense organs we

cannot certify their reality (veracity). The

moral value is a reference point, which is at

the heart of our self-determination, self-

consciousness and self-esteem.

d ) D e e d s

The deed is a free and accountable act. Deeds

change our immediate environment and the

global world, make new relationships among

individuals and bring good and evil. Deeds

are an object of evaluation they are

accepted, defended, blamed and condemned.

The most frequently asked question about the

deed is: Why do I proceed in this way?. When

we proceed in a definite way, what is the

leading motive the thought of the personal

benefit or the obedience of a given principle?

According to utilitarianism (ethics of utility)

one action is right if and only if it conforms to

the principle of utility, pleasure, welfare

(Bentham, 1789). According to the ethics of

duty, the accent is on motives and principles.

Kant, as its leading representative, treats man

as nature and freedom, as a body and a

personality. Morality derives from freedom.

Only the free decision of a rational human

being brings morality (Kant, 1785/1993).

e ) F r e e d om

Freedom, in political philosophy, is the

condition of personal liberty requiring either

the absence of restraint (negative freedom) or

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self-mastery or self-realisation (positive

freedom) or both (Norton, 1994). According to

one of the more famous dicta of Jean-Paul

Sartre, a thinker generally recognised as one

of the most influential of the existential

(although he himself came to reject the label

in time) philosophers, Man is condemned to

freedom (Sartre, 1943/1996). By this, we see

freedom as a given of human existence our

freedom to choose our own destinies is a given

of human existence. It follows from this that

we cannot exist in any manner other than

freely when we attempt to do this we are

guilty of acting in what Sartre calls Bad Faith.

As the Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl put

it, Things are determined, but what man is, he

has made out of himself (Frankl, 1985).

Having said this, we must acknowledge (as

Sartre and Frankl also recognised) that man is

not alone. He lives in a community; therefore,

the problem of other peoples freedom is of

first importance. All of us are up against the

other ones faces, against their approval or

disapproval. Consider the following:

Let us imagine that moved by jealousy,

curiosity or vice I have just glued my ear to

the door and looked through a keyhole. I am

alone, and on the level of non-thetic self-

consciousness. This means first of all that

there is no self to inhabit my consciousness,

nothing therefore to which I can refer to my

acts in order to qualify them. They are in no

way known; I am my acts and hence they

carry in themselves their whole justification.

This means that behind that door a spectacle

is presented as to be seen, a conversation as

to be heard. But all of a sudden I hear

footsteps in the hall. Someone is looking at

me! What does this mean?.... All of a sudden I

am conscious of myself as escaping myself. I

am for myself only as I am a pure reference to

the Other. I am indeed that object which the

Other is looking at and judging(Sartre,

1943/1996, pp. 259-261).

What is most striking, and of course, is the

point of the story, is the way in which we (in

the position of the observer at the keyhole)

are confronted with the truth that we exist in

relationship to other people we feel this

suddenly, but in our entire being, in the

emotion ofshame. Mary Warnocks summary

of what we can learn from Sartres famous

keyhole scenario runs as follows:

The fact that the man who caught his fellow

man at the keyhole will label him an

eavesdropper can thus be seen to contain

within it the essence of the whole relationship

between one human being and another

conflict. The freedom of another person is the

most fatal obstacle to my own freedom to do

as I wish(Warnock, 1970, p. 117).

Because of these two factors the fact thatour freedom is something that we cannot

escape, and that our own freedom is inevitably

limited by that of the Other the American

existential psychiatrist Irvin Yalom (1980) uses

freedom and responsibility (apparent

opposites) as interchangeable entities. This

treatment has a long history in the existential

tradition. In a typically insightful exposition,

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Frankl (who, as a survivor of Auschwitz, might

be correctly expected to have had something

important to say about freedom)

inspirationally sums up:

Freedom, however, is not the last word.

Freedom is only part of the story and half of

the truth. Freedom is but the negative aspect

of the whole phenomenon whose positive

aspect is responsibleness. In fact, freedom is

in danger of degenerating into mere

arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of

responsibleness. That is why I recommend

that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be

supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on

the West Coast. (Frankl, 1985, pp.155-156;

emphasis reproduced from the original).

f ) F r i e n d s h i p

Friendship is mutual benevolence that is

independent of sexual or family love. The

ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle

distinguishes three levels of friendship: the

useful (friendship as a common enterprise),

the pleasant (friendship as an entertaining

companionship) and the good or virtuous

(friendship as mutual esteem) (Norton, 1994).

Friendship is shared life joy, pain, concern

and suffering. Friendship is mutuality too. It

presumes striving for contact from both

parties. Friendship is also acceptance of the

other one as he is. Friendship is readiness to

help; sensitivity to the problems of those we

have declared our friends. Friendship is a

durable link among individuals. It is founded

on co-experience, mutual understanding and

respect. Friendship proves stronger than the

merely emotional attraction. Friendship

disappears in the lie, the jealousy, the villainy

and the treachery (Gerdjikov & Dobreva,

2002).

g ) Co n f i d e n c e a n d r e s p o n s i b i l i t y

Man gets along with people and sees a lot of

them over and over again. If we put no trust

in others we cannot expect trust from them

either. If we do not have respect for others we

cannot expect them to have respect for us.

To have confidence means to deal frankly and

positively with others. Confidence signifies

respect. Respect is an unconditional

requirement of morality. To have respect for

others designates to appreciate highly the

unique person. Respect excludes humiliation

and offending someones dignity.

Respect is achievable through responsibility.

To have self-respect and respect for others

means to be responsible and to rely on others

responsibility. Responsibility is acceptance of

the consequences of the deeds. In time of

tremendous freedom our responsibility

increases too. Man is responsible as far as heis free. Once one makes a choice, then he is

responsible for his choice. Irresponsibility is

incompatible with morality and destroys the

community.

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h ) J u s t ic e

Justice (fairness, equity, rightness) is

rendering everyone his due and deserved. The

positive (good, useful) acts fairly get a praise

and the negative (bad, harmful) a

reprimand. It is fair goods to be distributed

according to the peoples contribution or

according to their needs. Justice is moral order

among people. Achieving justice is an aim of

law.

Law

Law in a broad sense we discover everywhere

people unite in society (state). People arrange

their relationships not with force (lex talionis),

which destroys society but predominantly with

customs and norms they agree with. In the

civilized world law is within the state authority.

The state obliges all its citizens to observe the

legal regulations.

There are many definitions of law (lat.jus):

the enforceable body of rules that govern any

society (Martin, 1994); an obligatory rule of

conduct, the commands of him or them that

have coercive power; a rule of conduct

imposed and enforced by the Sovereign; body

of principles recognised and applied by the

state in the administration of justice

(Rutherford & Bone,1993), etc. In broad

terms, law is a system of legally binding rules,

an institutional and a normative regulator of

the social relations. This body of rules consists

of Constitution (which has supremacy),

statutes, decrees, etc.

Law and ethics are interrelated. What is legal

is usually ethical, moral, and vice-versa. By

contrast with morality the law is binding. It is

put through with the strength of the authority.

The law acknowledges rights and stands upon

them. But it imposes restrictions on the rights

as well as obligations and requires their

observance.

Human Rights and Childrens Rights

a ) H u m a n r ig h t s

That man has inherent, irrevocable and

inalienable rights to life, freedom and property

are reflected in the Declaration of

Independence of the United States (1776) and

in the Declaration of Mans and Citizens

Rights, proclaimed by the French Revolution

(1789).

In 1948, the United Nations adopted the

Universal Declaration on Human Rights and in

1966, the International Covenant on Civil and

Political Rights and the International Covenant

on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, where

these rights are reconfirmed in a modern way.

At the same time, the human rights list is

substantially expanded. Most of the actsfollowed add new rights to the list as well.

In a European context the basic human rights

instrument is the Convention for the Protection

of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,

signed in Rome in 1950 and amended and

supplemented by 14 additional protocols.

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b ) Ch i l d r e n s r i g h t s

The basic international instrument on

childrens rights is the UN Convention on the

Rights of the Child (CRC) from 1989, and the

two optional protocols to it. The CRC is the

most widely ratified treaty in history. There

are now 192 States Parties to the convention,

practically all except Somalia and the US. This

universal human rights convention is the most

far-reaching and comprehensive of human

rights treaties. It transforms the status of

children as the holders of rights. Children are

not considered as miniature human beings

with mini rights. The Convention on the Rights

of the Child is the first legally binding

international instrument to incorporate the full

range of human rights - civil, cultural,

economic, political and social, of all human

beings under the age of 18. Among other

rights, this landmark treaty guarantees

children the right to be free from

discrimination, to be protected in armed

conflicts, to be protected from torture and

cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or

punishment, to be free from arbitrary

deprivation of liberty, to receive age-

appropriate treatment in the justice system,

and to be free from economic exploitation and

other abuses. The four core principles of the

Convention are non-discrimination; devotion

to the best interests of the child; the right to

life, survival and development; and respect for

the views of the child. Every right spelled out

in the Convention is inherent to the human

dignity and harmonious development of every

child. The Convention protects children's rights

by setting standards in health care, education

and legal, civil and social services.

Achieving these rights remains a challenge.

Governments are required to take stronger

action to implement the Convention's

provisions and fulfil their promises to the

children of the world. The Committee on the

Rights of the Child is the monitoring body to

the CRC that holds regular meetings and

oversees the progress made by States Parties

in fulfilling their obligations. The two Optional

Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of

the Child are: the Optional Protocol on the sale

of children, child prostitution and child

pornography, dated 18 January 2002 and the

Optional Protocol on the involvement of

children in armed conflicts, dated 25 May

2000.

On the European scale, the Council of Europe

was established to defend democracy, human

rights and the rule of law. Pursuing the

fundamental rights of everyone to respect for

their human dignity and physical integrity, the

Council of Europe is taking actions for the

promotion of childrens rights and protection

from all forms of violence. In 2004, in

Strasbourg, the Council gathered young people

from across Europe who had themselves

prepared the European Charter for democratic

schools without violence

http://www.coe.int/The Charter was

developed on the basis of the fundamental

values and principles shared by all Europeans,

in particular those set forth in the Convention

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for the Protection of Human Rights and

Fundamental Freedoms. The Charter

emphasizes the importance of the right to a

safe and peaceful school, the right for

everyone to have equal treatment and the idea

that conflicts should always be resolved in a

non-violent and constructive way. This group

of young people recommends that schools

throughout Europe consider using this Charter

as a model with which to further the cause of

democratic schooling without violence (see

Appendix 1).

Dissemination of knowledge about these

concepts, approaches and initiatives seeks to

create in school a climate, in which the ethical

and legal standards are an essential integral

component and in which there is no place for

acts of a non-ethical character, acts in

contradiction to law and violence. Knowing the

rights of the child is a prerequisite for their

protection. Respect for the rights and dignity

of every person is on a reciprocal basis and is

the one and the only way to guarantee

peaceful and harmonious existence. Non-

respecting of the personal and legal sphere of

the other person, intervening in it without

permission is not only reproachful but

indictable. This should be the deep conviction

of teachers as well as students, and this is

achieved through training.

Elements of additional training could also

include the rights of children with special

educational needs, approaches to children at

risk, etc. There has to be formed a common

agreement that rights are connected with

obligations, the infringement of which is

sanctioned, and that violence in all its forms is

absolutely incompatible with the whole school

ethos.

Responsibilities for the

Chapter facilitators

Your tasks within this Chapter are to:

send all participants information aboutwhen and where the session will be

held and details of preparatory reading

to be done

familiarise yourself with the Chaptertext

plan the session to meet the needs ofthe participants

ensure that all relevantresources/materials are copied and/or

prepared

lead the session and all the activities

Sequence of activities for

Chapter 3.1

This Chapter represents a one-day training of

five hours plus breaks.

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Activity 1 Discussions (90minutes)

Purpose

To explore and stimulate readiness ofthe young generation to observe moral

and legal standards

To check knowledge andunderstanding of the pupils about their

rights and obligations

To stimulate the active citizenshipbehaviour model

Materials

Flipchart

Procedure

The summary on current thinking about ethical

issues and childrens rights provided

background information about the basic terms

of ethics, law and childrens rights. Activity 1

involves free discussion, free expression of

opinions in writing of the basic concepts on a

flipchart. The facilitator asks the group to

discuss the following questions:

a) What kind of behaviour is moral and what

kind of man is good?

Describe a situation in which you were

involved and in which someone was acting in a

moral way. What makes you think this person

was acting in a moral way? (and vice-versa:

describe a situation in which someone was

acting in an immoral way)

Conclusion: Acting in a moral way means to

us: .

b) What is freedom?

- a burden

- a responsibility

- an opportunity to have your own way.

Describe a situation in which you were

involved and experienced your freedom. What

did freedom stand for in this particular

situation?

Are we free and to what extent?

c) How are rights and obligations connected

(in a given situation and in general)?

Debriefing

Analysis of all opinions expressed.

Evaluation criteria: pragmatism, rationalism,

soundness, originality.

Assessment, building common understanding

and developing an action plan.

Activity 2 Things to thinkabout and do (90 minutes)

Purpose

To explore and stimulate readiness toobserve moral and legal standards

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To check knowledge andunderstanding of pupils rights and

obligations

To stimulate active citizenshipbehaviour

Materials

Resource 1 Three situations in which you or

someone else helped another person or a

group

Procedure

The facilitator distributes copies of Resource 1

Three situations in which you or someone else

was helping another person/ a group and asks

individuals in small groups to complete the

table. Once participants have completed the

table they are asked to do the following:

a) How would you comment on the following

statement: I obey only the laws of nature?

b) Would you risk your life for a great

adventure (such as a risky trip to the jungle)?

Why (not)?

c) Would you risk your life to protect the ideas

you live for (freedom, justice etc.)? Why

(not)?

d) What would you do if you had unlimited

power? Which actions would you undertake

towards your family, friends or enemies? Why?

Debriefing




Activity 3 Assignments (60

minutes)

Purpose

To explore opinions about possibleimprovements in school

Materials

Extracts from the UN Convention on the Rights

of the Childhttp://www.unicef.org/crc/

Procedure

This material can be used as a written

exercise, or for free and circle time

discussion. It is also possible to use this in

group activities with school staff, that is,

management focus groups, or in-service

training sessions with teaching staff, as a

group discussion. Participants are asked to

explore the following:

a) What would you like to be improved in your

school, so that childrens rights are duly

respected? (e.g., time schedule, organisation

of the play time, infrastructure, participation of

teachers, parents and pupils, lessons)

b) Please, read Articles 13, 16 and 37 of the

Convention of the Rights of the Childand think

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how they can be put into action in your school.

How could CRC help in your anti-violence

work?

Debriefing




Systematisation, building common

understanding and developing proposals to the

school administration.

Activity 4 Individual study

(60 minutes)

Purpose

Further reflection on ethical and legalissues

Free expression of opinions in writingMaterials

Extracts from the UN Convention on the Rights

of the Childhttp://www.unicef.org/crc/

Procedure

Participants are asked to write about one of

the following topics. Alternatively, these topics

can be used for free and circle time

discussion.

a) Make your own scale of values and explain

why you have chosen exactly this order.

b) Develop a questionnaire to examine your

true friend. What do you expect from him (and

from yourself as a friend of his/her)?

c) Read extracts from the UN Convention on

the Rights of the Childand think about its

meaning and construction. What do you think

are the good points? What do you think took

longest to decide upon? What do you think

could have been added or missed out?

d) Try to find internet addresses relevant to

the topic and share what you have read there.

Debriefing




References

Bentham, J. (1789).An Introduction to the

principles of morals and legislation.

http://www.utilitarianism.com/jeremy-

bentham/index.html)

Frankl, V. E. (1985). Mans search for

meaning. New York: Washington Square Press.

Gerdjikov, S., & Dobreva, D. (2002). Ethics

and law for X class. Sofia: Extrem (in

Bulgarian).

, . , . (2002).

.: .

12
http://www.unicef.org/crc/http://www.utilitarianism.com/jeremy-bentham/index.htmlhttp://www.utilitarianism.com/jeremy-bentham/index.htmlhttp://www.utilitarianism.com/jeremy-bentham/index.htmlhttp://www.utilitarianism.com/jeremy-bentham/index.htmlhttp://www.unicef.org/crc/http://www.unicef.org/crc/


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Hornby, A. S. with Cowie, A. P. (Eds.).

(1988).Oxford advanced learners dictionary of

current English. Oxford: Oxford University

Press.

Kant, I. (1993). Grounding for the

metaphysics of morals (J. W. Ellington,

Trans.). Indianapolis, IN: Hackett. (Original

work published 1785)

Martin, E. A. (Ed.). (1994). A dictionary of law

(3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Norton, A. L. (Ed.). (1994). The Hutchinson

dictionary of ideas. Oxford: Helicon Publishing.

Sartre, J-P. (1996). Being and nothingness: An

essay on phenomenological ontology(H.

Barnes, Trans.). London: Routledge. (Original

work published 1943)

Warnock, M. (1970). Existentialism. (Rev.

ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press,

Yalom, I. (1980). Existential psychotherapy.

New York: Basic Books.

Further reading and

additional resources

Alston, P., & Tobin, J. (2005). Laying the

foundations for childrens rights. Geneva:

UNICEF, Innocenti Research Centre.

Buergenthal, T. (1993). International human

rights. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co.

Council of Europe. (2005).Actions to promote

childrens rights to protection from all forms of

violence. Geneva: UNICEF.

Consedine, J. (1999). Twin pillars of justice:

Morality and the law. In J. Consedine & H.

Bowen (Eds.), Restorative justice.

Contemporary themes and practice (pp. 36-

44). Lyttelton: Ploughshares Publications.

Finnis, J. (1980). Natural law and natural

rights. Oxford:Oxford University Press.

Gomez-Lobo, A. (2002). Morality and the

human goods: An introduction to natural law

ethics. Georgetown:Georgetown University

Press.

UNICEF. (2002). Implementation handbook for

the convention on the rights of the child.

Geneva:Author.

Websites

Child Rights Information Network -

www.crin.org/

Childrens rights - www.childrensrights.org

Committee on the Rights of the Child -

www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/index.htm

Europe for and with children -

www.coe.int/children

Human Rights Watch-Childrens rights -

http://hrw.org/children/

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Locke, J. (1690). The second treatise for civil

government

http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/l

ocke/locke2/2nd-contents.html

Mill, J. (1861). Utilitarianism,

http://www.utilitarianism.com/mill1.htm

UNICEF - www.unicef.org/crc/

Resource packs

Resource 1 Three situations in which you or someone else

was helping another person/group

Reason to help Situation 1

[brief description]

Situation 2

(brief description)

Situation 3

(brief description)

1. You like them and want to help them Yes No Yes

2. You like to be of use

3. You wish for the others welfare

4. One day you will rely on them to help you

5. You expect an award.

6.You want to impress somebody

Appendix 1 European Charter for Democratic Schools

without violence

Strasbourg, 16 June 2004

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All members of the school community

have the right to a safe and peaceful

school. Everybody has the responsibility

to contribute to creating a positive and

inspiring environment for learning and

personal development.

Everybody has the right to equal

treatment and respect regardless of any

personal difference. Everyone enjoys

freedom of speech without risking

discrimination or repression.

The school community ensures that

everybody is aware of their rights and

responsibilities.

Every democratic school has a

democratically elected decision making

body composed of representatives of

students, teachers, parents, and other

members of the school community where

appropriate. All members of this body

have the right to vote.

In a democratic school, conflicts are

resolved in a non-violent and constructive

way in partnership with all members of

the school community. Every school has

staff and students trained to prevent and

solve conflicts through counseling and

mediation.

Every case of violence is investigated and

dealt with promptly, and followed

through irrespective whether students or

any other members of the school

community are involves.

School is a part of the local community.

Co-operation and exchange of information

with local partners are essential for

preventing and solving problems.

Young People and Crime Objectives of Chapter 3.2

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To be familiar with basic concepts ofyouth offending and punishment

To be prepared to promote lawfulbehaviour among youth

To consider strategies for crimeprevention at school

Facilitation skills to be

developed through this

Chapter

Knowledge and understanding of:

the range of underlying causes ofchallenging, aggressive and anti-social

behaviour

the range of provisions for pupilswhose behaviour causes concern

the requirements of legislation andformal procedures relevant to

aggressive and violent behaviour

Personal qualities and attributes include:

empathy for and engaging pupilswhose behaviour and attendance

causes concern

the capacity to be a persuasiveadvocate for pupils - whether

perpetrators, victims, assistants or

witnesses

the ability to model effectivemanagement of pupils whose

behaviour causes concern.

Pre-chapter reading

Armstrong, D., Hine, J., Hacking, S., Armaos,

R., Jones, R., Klessinger, N., & France, A.

(2005). Children, risk and crime: The on track

youth lifestyles surveys. Home Office Research

Study 278. London: HMSO.

Muncie, J. (2000). Youth and crime: A critical

introduction. London: Sage.

Stephenson, M. (2005). Young people and

offending. Education, youth justice and social

inclusion. Cullompton: Willan Publishing.

Summary of current

thinking and knowledge

about young people andcrime

Various statistical data show that children at

school often become victims of crimes.

Frequently these crimes are connected with

violence. Apart from these are acts of violence

in different forms, verbal or physical, which

although not as serious as crimes, are

absolutely incompatible with the school ethos

and have an adverse effect on the general

climate at school and on the process of study

as a whole. The trouble is that in most cases

perpetrators of violence and crimes at school

are the students themselves. That is why

training in non-violence and zero tolerance to

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crime is an important part of the whole school

policy.

The high level of youth offending has been a

matter of concern for many years. Finding

ways of preventing children and young people

from becoming involved in crime or antisocial

behaviour has become a policy priority

worldwide. Governments largely launch crime

reduction programs and various other

initiatives with a clear focus on the prevention

of offending and re-offending of young people.

Work with children, their families and schools

is at the centre of many of these programs.

The relationship between education and youth

crime has long been recognised in terms of

social policy and public opinion. However, the

key role of school settings in the prevention of

youth antisocial behaviour, deviation from

further developments of youthful criminal

careers and acceptable behaviour

enforcement, despite being repeatedly

underlined, has not always been fully used. It

is clear that it is high time for the great

potential of educational institutions in the

combatting of youth offending to be enforced.

Delinquency is a term, until recently largelyused to refer to any kind of youthful

misbehaviour. Criminologists frequently use

the concepts of crime and delinquency

interchangeably, especially when their object

of study is young people. However, there are

crucial differences. Whilst a legal definition of

crime refers to behaviour prohibited by

criminal law, delinquency is applied to all

manners of behaviour that are deemed to be

undesirable, anti-social and pre-criminal. Much

of this ambiguity derives from the

establishment of juvenile justice designed to

punish and treat offenders but also to protect

the vulnerable and neglected (McLaughlin &

Muncie, 2003).

Most historians agree that delinquency was

first identified as a major social problem in the

early 19th century. During different historical

periods the social context and the factors that

are held to influence such behaviour change.

Those that are most commonly associated with

this conduct in the last decades are drugs and

alcohol, social exclusion (including

unemployment and poverty) and the

breakdown of communities and families. State

institutions and society have traditionally

confronted the symptoms and consequences,

rather than the causes of this behaviour.

Attitude and policies on youth offending (lately

widely replacing both juvenile delinquency and

juvenile crime) have identified two major

approaches - the welfare and the justice

approaches: whether young offenders are seen

as being primarily in need of care, or

deserving punishment. Both these approaches

have been widely criticized and both have had

unintended and unwelcome consequences.

This has moved to the discovery of the third

way - restorative approaches to youth

offending. These are an attempt to resolve

offences by taking into account the

perspectives of offenders and victims. They

look to positive change in the future, and to

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reparation, rather than to punishment

(Restoring Youth Justice, 2000; See also

Chapter 5.4).

Youth offending is not only a national problem.

It is a permanent item on the agenda of

different bodies and fora at supra-national

level as well. The United Nations (UN), the

Council of Europe and other international and

regional organisations have repeatedly

discussed the problem and have adopted

many international instruments dedicated to

this specific issue or paying due attention to it.

Explicitly has to be mentioned the

International Covenant on Civil and Political

Rights (1966) where the position of young

people in conflict with the law became the

subject of international standards; the UN

Standard Minimum Rules for the

Administration of Juvenile Justice (Beijing

Rules, 1985) establishing a regime that

combines requirements for due process of law

with the centrality of the interests and future

development of the child; the Committee of

Ministers of the Council of Europe

Recommendation on Social Reactions to

Juvenile Delinquency, recognizing that

education and social integration should be the

key component of penal systems for juveniles;

the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

(1989) requiring the law to treat children

differently, and to promote their reintegration

into society; the UN Guidelines for the

Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (Riyadh

Guidelines, 1990) and the UN Rules for the

Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their

Liberty. The positive influence of the UN

Declaration on Basic Principles of Justice for

Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power towards

treatment of juveniles should also be

recognised. Explicitly, mention should be made

of the newly adopted UN Guidelines on Justice

for Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime

(2005). The new restorative approach to

crime, including youth offending, is a subject

matter of the UN Resolution on Basic Principles

on the Use of Restorative Justice Programs in

Criminal Matters (2002) and of the Council of

Europe Committee of Ministers

Recommendation R (99) 19 on mediation in

penal matters.

Youth offending is a global scale phenomenon.

Its determinants have been studied and are

well-known. They have their roots in the social

structure of society, in the disproportionate

distribution of goods, in the existence of

numerous marginalized groups; they are

frequently due to problems in the family, even

to the inborn aggressiveness of individual

young people. The lack of enough restraining

internal and external mechanisms often leads

to violence and crimes. The fact that young

people predominantly spend their time in

school logically leads to concentration of these

acts especially in schools. Hence, the role of

these institutions in counteracting violence and

crime sharply increases.

First, schools provide training in tolerance and

non-violence. Crime prevention and law-

related education programs describe how the

criminal justice system responds to crime,

explore public policy options for dealing with

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crime, and teach young people how to become

involved in making their communities safer.

Schools, however, have many other

possibilities for exerting influence. Life skills

training programs may not address violence

directly, but they can help young people learn

how to avoid violence. Life skills programs

usually offer methods to resolve conflict and

develop friendships with peers and adults.

Young people learn how to resist negative peer

pressure and deal with issues of intergroup

conflict. Many schools launch special programs

for disruptive students; others increase

security equipment and personnel.

Gun violence education programs highlight the

threats and consequences involved in the

mishandling of guns and offer alternatives to

solving problems with guns. Recreation

programs cannot prevent youth violence by

themselves, but they are attractive to young

people and work well when linked up with

other violence prevention programs. Sports

are good outlets for stress and anger;

teamwork teaches cooperation, and keeps

young people off the street and away from

possible violence. Violence prevention

programs work best when they are combined

with other efforts. The whole community

benefits the most when the whole community

participates in dealing with the problem of

youth violence. The idea that it should be a

collective responsibility to prevent youth

offending is now firmly established. Equally, it

is recognized that there is a need to improve

services for children. It is commonly accepted

that the reduction of youth crime could happen

without exacerbating social exclusion among

young people. In these very aspects the role

of schools continues to be essential (see

Chapter 2.1).

Responsibilities for the

Chapter facilitators

Your tasks within this Chapter are to:

send to all participants informationabout when and where the session will

be held and details of preparatory

reading to be done

familiarise yourself with the Chaptertext

plan the session to meet the needs ofthe participants

ensure that all relevantresources/materials are copied and/or

prepared

lead the session and all the activities

Sequence of activities for

Chapter 3.2

This Chapter represents a one-day training of

five hours plus breaks. Note that all of the

activities are suitable for pupils. Participants

can experience them with colleagues and then

adapt them for use in class.

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Activity 1 Lecture about thecontext of youth crime and

treatment of young

offenders (30 minutes)

Purpose

To provide background informationabout youth crime. The lecture is

followed by a range of activities

G l o s s a r y

Cr i m e - behaviour defined and sanctioned by

criminal law. A crime (or offence) is a legal

wrong that can be followed by criminal

proceedings which may result in punishment

(Barker & Padfield, 1998).

Cr i m e p r e v e n t i o n - any action taken or

technique employed by private individuals or

public agencies aimed at the reduction of

damage caused by acts defined as criminal by

the state (McLaughlin & Muncie, 2003).

Cr i m i n a l j u s t i c e - the process through which

the state responds to behaviour that it deemsunacceptable. Criminal justice is delivered

through a series of stages: charge,

prosecution, trial, sentence, appeal,

punishment. These processes and the agencies

which carry them out are referred to

collectively as the criminal justice system

(McLaughlin & Muncie, 2003).

O f f e n d e r one who has committed a crime.

P u n i sh m e n t - a penalty imposed on a

defendant duly convicted of a crime by an

authorised court. The punishment is declared

in the sentence of the court (Martin, 1994, p.

274).

V i ct i m o f c r im e - a person who, individually

or collectively, has suffered harm, including

physical or mental injury, emotional suffering,

economic loss or substantial impairment of

their fundamental rights, through acts or

omissions that are in violation of criminal law

(The UN Declaration on Basic Principles of

Justice for Victim of Crime and Abuse of

Power, 1985).

W i t n e s s - a person who makes a viva voce

statement to a judicial tribunal on a questionof fact. Witnesses require to be sworn before

their evidence is given, unless they choose to

make a solemn affirmation. The general rule is

that all persons are competent to give

evidence, provided they have sufficient mental

understanding (Rutherford & Bone, 1993, p.

351).

B a ck g r o u n d i n f o r m a t i o n

The law is created by people in order to

regulate their relations. It is hard to unite

many individuals freedoms and moral norms

are not always enough to prevent people from

doing wrong. That is why legal rules have been

created, they have been proclaimed obligatory

and disobeying them has led not only to

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reprimand but to punishment as well (Barker &

Padfield, 1998, p. 286; see also Chapter 3.1).

There are different violations of law - some

less serious (e.g., crossing the street on a red

traffic light), some more serious (e.g.,

burglary). The most serious infractions of the

law, causing heavy harm to the public or to a

single person, are usually named crimes

(offences). They are explicitly forbidden by the

criminal codes of different countries and by the

international criminal law. Sometimes in

various legal regulations differences in

understanding of crime could be noticed but

murder, rape, theft, fraud, drugs distribution

and many others are considered crimes

worldwide.

The offender is the person who has committed

a crime. Who is in fact Homo Criminalis?

According to the broadly accepted view,

criminals are not born; they are a product of

the social environment. Different traumas in

childhood or at a later stage, poverty,

unemployment, drug addiction and other social

failures could provoke someone to break the

limits of law. Others do it in order to dominate,

to receive more money or power, or for the

violence itself. That is why a high rate of

criminality can be detected even in the most

civilized and developed societies. Civilization

and progress give opportunities for

development of human skills and techniques

that are sometimes used for doing wrong.

In order to be considered a crime, an act (or

omission of an act) should be committed

intentionally or with gross negligence (actus

reus). This is decided normally by a criminal

court which has the final say on whether there

has been a crime, who is the offender and

what punishment should be assigned to him.

Criminal jurisprudence is the classical and still

widely used method of dealing with crimes. As

the accused is considered innocent during the

criminal proceedings his guilt has to be proved

with the help of witnesses, documents etc. He

has the right to defence, including the right to

legal assistance, right to information etc.

Punishment is proportionate to the crime

committed and could be: imprisonment,

probation, fine, etc. At present capital

punishment is widely abolished though in

some countries it still exists (Coleman &

Norris, 2000).

S p e ci a l p r o v i s io n f o r j u v e n i l e s

All Western jurisdictions stipulate that under a

certain age young people cannot be held fully

responsible for their actions. It is widely

assumed that juveniles are doli incapax

(incapable of evil) but how certain age groups

- child, juvenile, young person - are perceived

and constituted in law is not universally agreed

upon. Taking Europe as an example, in

Scotland the age of criminal responsibility is 8,

in England and Wales 10, in Germany 14, in

Spain 16 and in Belgium 18. To juveniles

whose acts cannot be considered crimes

special correctional or educative measures are

undertaken. The punishment for the young

offenders shall be imposed with the priority

objective of their reformation and preparation

for living in a lawful way. As a rule only some

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kinds of punishments can be imposed on

juveniles: imprisonment, probation,

reprimand, etc. During criminal proceedings

they are treated with due attention and some

special rules are applied. A relatively new

approach to juvenile delinquency is their

involvement in restorative processes (see

Chapter 5.4).

It is widely recognized that the focus should be

put on the prevention of offending and re-

offending of young people. In this aspect

identifying and assessment of risk factors as

well as protective factors have a high priority.

Thus work with families and children at school

and tackling crime in local communities should

have as one of the main objectives developing

products and systems that are resistant to

crime. Reducing the impact of, or exposure to

risk, reducing chain reactions to negative

experience, promoting self-esteem and

achievements and providing positive

relationships and new opportunities all these

can be the contribution of school education

and environment to the prevention of youth

offending (Omaji, 2003).

Activity 2 Discussions (30

minutes for each)

Purpose

To check knowledge andunderstanding of participants about

violence and crime

To provoke an active counteraction toviolence and criminal determinants

Materials

Flipchart and pens

Procedure

Free discussion The participants write pro and

con arguments on a flipchart.

a) In your opinion, is violence an integral part

of human nature?

b) How one becomes a criminal?

c) Is copying of a CD album of a famous pop-

singer a crime?

d) Is cheating at exams a crime or is it okay

as long you are not caught?

e) Would you report to the school if you saw:

your colleague systematically bullying another

colleague of yours at school; someone

vandalising property in or outside school?

Debriefing

Analysis of all pro and contra

lawful/criminal behaviour arguments.

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Activity 3 Case (30

minutes)

Would you take witness in court against a

gangster who has assaulted a friend of yours?

Would you be scared or would you give

testimony?

Purpose

To explore and stimulate readiness tosupport the functioning of the justice

system

Materials

Flipchart and pens

Procedure

Free expression of opinions. Writing on a

flipchart the key positions expressed.

Debriefing:

Analysis of all arguments pro and con ofbeing a witness.

Activity 4 Essays (60

minutes)

a) How to protect myself from violence and

criminal acts (theft, assault, robbery)? What

do I have to learn or build up in myself (karate

techniques, coolness, common sense/sound

mind)?

b) What factorsdo you think might contribute

to school disorder and violence?

c) Most violence prevention programs have not

yet been evaluated. Do you think they are

effective? Why or why not?

d) Imagine that you are the head teacher of a

middle school. You are concerned with student

violence. What kind of prevention program

would you adopt? Why?

Debriefing

Pragmatism, wholeness, soundness.

Assessment and dissemination of information

about the best and most original answers and

practices.

References

Barker, D., & Padfield, C. (1998). Law: Made

simple. Oxford: Heinemann Educational

Secondary Division.

Coleman, C., & Norris, C. (2000). Introducing

criminology. Cullompton: Willan Publishing.

Martin, E. A. (Ed.). (1994). A dictionary of law

(3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

McLaughlin, E., & Muncie, J. (2003). The Sage

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dictionary of criminology. London: Sage

Publications.

Omaji, P. (2003). Responding to youth crime.

Cullompton: Willan Publishing.

Restoring youth justice: New directions in

domestic and international law and practice.

(2000).

http://www.justice.org.uk/reports/restoringyo

uthjustice.html

Rutherford, L., & Bone, S. (Eds.). (1993).

Osborns concise law dictionary(8th ed.).

London: Sweet & Maxwell.

The UN Declaration on Basic Principles of

Justice for Victim of Crime and Abuse of

Power. (1985).

Further reading and

additional resources

Books and articles

Braithwaite, J. (1989). Crime, shame and

reintegration. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Braithwaite, J., & Pettit, P. (1990). Not just

deserts: A republican theory of criminal

justice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Corrado, R., Cohen, I., & Odgers, C. (2003).

Multi-problem violent youth: A challenge for

the restorative justice paradigm. In E.

Weitekamp & H-J. Kerner (Eds.), Restorative

justice in context. International practice and

directions (pp.1-22). Cullompton: Willan

Publishing.

Crawford, A., & Newburn, T. (2003). Youth

offending and restorative justice. Cullompton:

Willan Publishing.

Crawford, A., & Burden, T. (2005). Integrating

victims in restorative youth justice. Bristol:

The Policy Press.

Home Office. (2004). The role of education in

enhancing life chances and preventing

offending, Home Office Development and

Practice Report No 19.

Maxwell, G., & Morris, A. (2002). The role of

shame, guilt and remorse in restorative justice

processes for young people. In E. Weitecamp

& H-J. Kerner (Eds.), Restorative justice.

Theoretical foundations (pp.267-284).

Cullompton: Willan Publishing.

McCarthy, P., Laing, K., & Walker, J. (2004).

Offenders of the future? Assessing the risk of

children and young people becoming involved

in criminal or antisocial behaviour. Newcastle

Centre for Family Studies, University of

Newcastle upon Tyne, Research Report No

545.

Web-sites

Crime Concern - www.crimeconcern.org.uk

24
http://www.justice.org.uk/reports/restoringyouthjustice.htmlhttp://www.justice.org.uk/reports/restoringyouthjustice.htmlhttp://www.vistop.org/ebook/www.crimeconcern.org.ukhttp://www.vistop.org/ebook/www.crimeconcern.org.ukhttp://www.justice.org.uk/reports/restoringyouthjustice.htmlhttp://www.justice.org.uk/reports/restoringyouthjustice.html


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Crime Reduction -

www.crimereduction.gov.uk/

Department for Education and Skills -

www.dfes.gov.uk/

International Bureau for Childrens Rights -

www.ibcr.org

International Centre for the Prevention of

Crime - www.crime-prevention-intl.org/

International Institute of Restorative Practices

- www.iirp.org

www.safersanerschools.org/;

www.realjustice.org

Mediation UK - www.mediationuk.org.uk

Restorative Justice Consortium -

www.restorativejustise.org.uk

Thames Valley Police -

www.thamesvalley.police.uk

Transforming Conflict

www.transformingconflict.org

Youth Justice Board for England and Wales -www.youth-justice-board.gov.uk

Evaluation studies

Dignan, J. (2000). Youth justice pilots

evaluation: Interim report on reparative work

and youth offending teams. London: Home

Office.

Holdaway, H., Davidson, N., Dignan, J.,

Hammersley, R., Hine, J., & Marsh, P. (2001).

New strategies to address youth offending:

The national evaluation of the pilot youth

offending teams. London: Home Office.

Youth Justice Board. (2005). Persistent young

offenders. London: Home Office.

Appendix

UN Guidelines on justice for child victims and

witnesses of crime

http://www.ibcr.org/Publications/VICWIT/2003

_IBCR_Guidelines_En-Fr-Sp.pdf
http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk/http://www.dfes.gov.uk/http://www.ibcr.org/http://www.vistop.org/ebook/www.crime-prevention-intl.org/http://www.iirp.org/http://www.safersanerschools.org/http://www.realjustice.org/http://www.vistop.org/ebook/www.mediationuk.org.ukhttp://www.vistop.org/ebook/www.restorativejustise.org.ukhttp://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/http://www.vistop.org/ebook/www.transformingconflict.orghttp://www.vistop.org/ebook/www.youth-justice-board.gov.ukhttp://www.ibcr.org/Publications/VICWIT/2003_IBCR_Guidelines_En-Fr-Sp.pdfhttp://www.ibcr.org/Publications/VICWIT/2003_IBCR_Guidelines_En-Fr-Sp.pdfhttp://www.ibcr.org/Publications/VICWIT/2003_IBCR_Guidelines_En-Fr-Sp.pdfhttp://www.ibcr.org/Publications/VICWIT/2003_IBCR_Guidelines_En-Fr-Sp.pdfhttp://www.vistop.org/ebook/www.youth-justice-board.gov.ukhttp://www.vistop.org/ebook/www.transformingconflict.orghttp://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/http://www.vistop.org/ebook/www.restorativejustise.org.ukhttp://www.vistop.org/ebook/www.mediationuk.org.ukhttp://www.realjustice.org/http://www.safersanerschools.org/http://www.iirp.org/http://www.vistop.org/ebook/www.crime-prevention-intl.org/http://www.ibcr.org/http://www.dfes.gov.uk/http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk/

Documents

Section 3 Responsibilities and Rights