Anti-Violence Efforts in Canadian Schools: A Critical Look at Some Civil Society Responses to Bullying

Violence is a significant issue in Canadian schools that includes a wide spectrum of actions among students commonly understood as “bullying” (Craig, Lambe, & McIver, 2015). While the efforts of governments and academic researchers are expected, less is known about how civil society is responding to this challenge and the significance of children’s rights in their responses. This paper outlines that many efforts reflect simplistic responses, funding issues, the need for greater prevention, improved coordination, long-term plans, as well as a general gap of children’s rights. The paper concludes that children’s rights must be better respected in these education efforts and that greater, coordinated participation is needed across civil society and beyond for progress with anti-violence efforts. With information about how various systems and institutions respond to violence, it is hoped that practitioners, researchers and policy makers concerned about violence in schools may further contribute to stronger rights-based advocacy efforts for, and with, young people.