The phenomenon of violence in schools is on the rise, and incidents often follow the same pattern: an initial aggression triggers chain reactions. In the 2024–2025 school year, police officers intervened in 1,873 cases of physical violence in educational institutions in Romania, most of which involved beatings or other aggressions. Students recognize that in certain situations it is difficult not to respond with violence when they feel provoked, and teachers draw attention to the essential role of parents in identifying early signs of aggressive behavior.
As part of prevention activities, police officers explain to students what an act of violence entails, from a legal point of view. “We’ll start by saying the crime of hitting or other violence, that’s what it’s called. Hitting with the fist, the palm, the foot, with a hard body. We’re talking about pulling the hair, putting the hand in the throat, twisting the hand behind the back, obstructing, these are all included in this crime“, a policewoman told the students, according to Digi24.
Teenagers say that such conflicts are common and not limited to the school space. “I have seen conflicts over time, both in school and outside of school. The teachers have always intervened. I think it is something common in our schools and not only in schools, but also outside of school.” said a student.
Another student states that tensions often arise from differences in social status: “Conflicts between students start, most often, from the fact that some are ranked higher on the social scale”. There are also more subtle forms of aggression, such as insults or verbal harassment.
“I’ve had classmates from high school come to tell me what I’m going through, I mean insults or bad words directed at them”said another student.
Official data shows that, in the 2024–2025 school year, there were 1,676 crimes committed inside schools and another 197 in their vicinity. Most incidents occurred in urban areas, but over 500 were also reported in rural areas. In 105 cases, dangerous objects were involved, such as knives, tear gas sprays or clubs. The figures do not include conflicts settled by teachers, which suggests that the true scale of the phenomenon could be significantly higher.
Teachers warn that violence does not appear suddenly, and the first signals are difficult to notice.
“Early signs, both parents and teachers can see, are quite difficult to identify at the beginning, because first of all, the child tends to shut down. If he does not communicate, he becomes internalized, stays in his room a lot, stops participating in daily activities at home, which is a warning sign.” explained Anca Liță, deputy director. She emphasizes that school complements the education received at home and cannot replace it.
In some cases, the intervention of the authorities was triggered by images appearing on social networks.
“It happens that we self-report after we find different actions or activities of children on social networks. There are videos, there are pictures, there are images, after which we self-report and intervene.” said Ionuț Harbuz, head of the Ilfov School Safety Office.
Authorities warn that, without early intervention, such conflicts can degenerate into serious situations, especially in cases where dangerous objects are involved.
