The UTAD study concluded that 68% of young people have been victims of violence in schools.

An investigation carried out by the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD) in Vila Real concluded that 68% of Portuguese teenagers aged 12 to 18 were victims of aggressive behavior in a school environment.

In 92% of cases, the most commonly reported victimization behavior was psychological (aggressive jokes, ignoring, blaming, lying or cheating), followed by physical behavior (kicking, pinching or scratching, harming “as a joke”). with 82% and those who control (control or prohibit and “persecute” [perseguir]) with 62%, UTAD said in a statement sent to Lusa.

It also highlighted that behaviors associated with “cyberbullying” (virtual stalking) and non-consensual sharing of intimate images (“sexting”) were observed, with a prevalence of 58%.

Although the frequency is lower, the study also found that 35% of adolescents suffered from behavior that tended to be more serious (threats with objects or weapons and serious bodily harm), and 6% suffered from behavior of a sexual nature (forced sexual intercourse).

The investigation also found that 64% of young people said they had already committed some form of violence against a school friend.

“Acts of aggression, both committed and received, occur throughout all years of education and among both sexes. These data were collected from 61 educational institutions in the 2nd and 3rd cycles of basic and secondary education,” said UTAD researcher Ricardo Barroso, quoted in the briefing note.

This data was collected between 2018 and 2022 as part of PREVINT, an interpersonal violence prevention program implemented in more than one hundred schools and reaching approximately 20,000 students.

Of the 7,139 young people of both sexes and ages 12 to 18 surveyed, 68% (4,837) reported being victims of aggressive behavior, and 64% (4,634) admitted to having already committed violent acts against a colleague at school.

“We have found that these data remain consistent over the years, and although from a social point of view the fact of physical violence is more valuable, such a high prevalence of psychological violence causes us concern, since it tends to be a cause of great psychological suffering in adolescents “Carrying out prevention and intervention work with adolescents is just as important as with parents/guardians and professionals who work in the school context,” said the UTAD researcher.