Students against violence

Students against violence

We’d all like violence to stop. You can help by using your voice.

You can talk with your friends, family, teachers and community about this issue and how you’d like it to stop. Learn about the impacts and consequences of violence, and how to support your friends and family. Become a changemaker and call out violent behaviour, including any threats or physical assaults against another student, a staff member or a community member.

Experiencing violence can have significant, and sometimes long-term, impacts on people’s physical and mental health.

  • some suffer physical injuries, disability or death
  • some find it hard to go to school and concentrate in class
  • some are afraid they will be hurt again
  • some lose interest in socialising and having fun.

If you share or like videos of fights between students online, things can get worse:

  • more people see what happened – which can be embarrassing
  • friends and family also see the fight
  • they are linked to the fight forever
  • it gives those fighting attention and status – which spurs them on
  • it makes fighting seem normal and accepted.

Even if you are under the age of 18 you can still get in trouble with the law for being involved in a fight.

You can get in trouble with the law if you:

  • organise a fight
  • stop the victim from getting away
  • shout out words of encouragement (for example: yell out words like “go on, hit them.”)
  • film a young person fighting
  • post or share a video of a young person in a fight on social media
  • keep a video of a fight involving a young person that was sent to you, whether you asked for the footage or not
  • ask someone to send you a video of a fight involving a young person.

For more information on what can happen if you get involved, go to Legal Aid WA.

You don’t need to accept violence. If you want to help create change, here are some ideas:

Promote respectful relationships

  • be kind and respectful
  • praise your mates when they walk away from a conflict
  • make ‘respect’ the norm.

If you witness a fight or see one developing:

  • find an adult to help stop the fight
  • discourage those involved not to fight;
  • ‘It’s not worth it’
  • ‘You don’t want to get in trouble’
  • ‘It’s not cool’
  • try to diffuse the situation or distract them with something else to focus on
  • walk away so they don’t have an audience
  • don’t talk about it afterwards – dismiss it as ‘not cool.’

If you see fights online:

  • scroll past them
  • don’t share them with friends
  • report them as inappropriate
  • tell friends sharing is illegal
  • don’t interact with the content.

If your friend or classmate experiences violence (or fear it may happen):

  • let them know you care
  • ask them if they are ok or if they need help
  • keep them company so they are not alone
  • speak with a trusted adult
  • refer them to a support service if they need someone to talk to.

Lead the way:

  • Talk with your school leaders about practical ways to prevent violence in your school.
  • Start a listening circle with your classmates to hear about others’ views and ideas.
  • Talk with your principal or teacher about starting a student action group.
  • Start challenges that promote respect and kindness (such as random acts of kindness, poster and video comps, discover five fun facts about everyone in your year).
  • Use our social media post templates to speak up on social media.
Support available

If you find this topic upsetting or worrying and need someone to talk to, or if you've been involved in something and unsure what to do, you can get help from external support services.

If you would like to report violent content, or get help to remove it, you can contact the eSafety Commissioner.