PEARCE: The danger within — understanding violence among students

Aug 4, 2026 | 6:00 AM

WHEN WE SEND OUR CHILDREN TO SCHOOL, we entrust them to a world full of other children. In classrooms, hallways and social spaces, students are expected to navigate friendship, rivalry and learning – largely on their own. High school, in particular, is a precarious environment. Teen brains are still developing and social hierarchies – dominance and status roles within peer groups – exert a powerful influence over behavior. Sometimes these hierarchies foster cooperation, but they can just as easily catalyze aggression and abuse.

Violence among students often accumulates into what psychologists describe as macro acts of violence – repeated, smaller acts of aggression like social media shaming, verbal abuse, intimidation and exclusion that compound into lasting trauma. These forms of peer victimization frequently go unreported due to fear, stigma or social pressure. Denying that this occurs is to ignore research from organizations like UNICEF, which reports that nearly half of students aged 13–15 in Canada experienced bullying, physical fights, or peer violence in and around school.

Among the most serious forms of school violence is sexual assault by peers. Research and youth health surveys show that unwanted sexual contact and harassment occur with alarming frequency in school settings, often at the hands of classmates and in social contexts that go unreported and under-recognized. These experiences are associated with long-term psychological consequences, including anxiety, depression and trauma symptoms. Recognizing prevalence and impact is critical to meaningful prevention and intervention.

There are observable warning signs that educators, parents, and peers should never ignore. Students experiencing abuse or trauma may show unexplained bruising, frequent injuries, self-harming behaviors, drastic changes in mood, withdrawal, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, acting out or sudden declines in academic performance. Neuroscience and psychological research make clear that chronic stress from peer victimization can disrupt brain circuits responsible for emotional regulation, attention control and stress response, increasing vulnerability to anxiety, depression, and lasting cognitive and social challenges. Bullying and chronic adversity in childhood are now widely recognized as forms of trauma with long-term effects on brain development and mental health.

The roots of violent peer behavior are partly social and developmental. Pack mentality, first observed in primate studies by researchers such as Jane Goodall, also manifests in adolescent groups where dominance hierarchies form quickly and sometimes violently. Teenagers in large peer groups may adopt an “us-versus-them” stance, targeting students who are perceived as different or vulnerable. Peer influence often outweighs adult guidance in high school, making it harder for teachers alone to counter entrenched group norms.

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So how can schools confront this danger within? The first step is acknowledgment. For every reported incident of physical violence or sexual assault, multiple others go unreported. Recognizing the problem allows educators, administrators, and caregivers to move beyond denial to meaningful action. Schools can provide education about adolescent brain development and social dynamics, helping students understand why vulnerability can attract aggression and how empathy and social awareness serve as protective factors.

Structural support is also critical. Schools must ensure students are not left outnumbering adults in ways that leave them unprotected. Increased supervision – including monitoring of key indoor and outdoor spaces – allows timely intervention when violence occurs. But physical security measures alone are not enough. Schools must foster a culture in which the entire student body functions as one tribe, where conflict is addressed collaboratively rather than through exclusion or dominance. Programs that include restorative practices, peer mediation and guided interaction between victims and offenders in safe, educational settings – grounded in accountability and healing – can make a real difference. Over time, these strategies help replace macro acts of violence with mutual respect and understanding.

Experiences in schools leave enduring marks on young minds. Exposure to violence, harassment or peer victimization has been linked in health studies like the HBSC (Health Behaviour in School-aged Children) to mental health challenges, lowered life satisfaction and impaired social skills. Schools in British Columbia and beyond that implement inclusive, trauma-aware practices, support networks and community building are creating environments that help students develop emotional resilience, social skills and healthy relationships – foundations for well-being that extend far beyond graduation.

Violence in schools is not inevitable. With awareness, education, supervision and a culture that treats the school as a unified community, we can shift the balance from aggression to empathy, from fear to inclusion and from macro acts of violence to cultures of care. But first, we must acknowledge the problem honestly, understand its impact on developing brains and commit to nurturing every student’s safety, emotional health, and future potential.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.

by Karla Pearce

PEARCE: The danger within — understanding violence among students

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