Based on the newly adopted provisions, an educational institution will have to provide conditions for every pupil to regularly take part in at least one consistent and long-term prevention programme nurturing social and emotional competences and covering the prevention of violence and abuse of alcohol, tobacco and other psychoactive substances, as well as promoting healthy lifestyle. The explanatory note to the document reads that “only 56.3% of schools currently carry out violence prevention programmes. Lithuanian experience has shown that violence and bullying consistently go down in those schools which have been running long-term prevention programmes.”
The adopted amendments stipulate that in the case where a pupil inflicts violence or has been subjected to violence, the head of an educational institution must inform without delay, but not later than the next working day after the incident of violence has been observed, the parents (guardians or carers) of both the abuser (abusers) and the pupil (pupils) subjected to violence, as well as the state and municipal institutions ensuring protection of the rights and legitimate interests of the child within the limits of their competences.
The Law also guarantees timely and free psychological assistance to children as abusers and as victims of violence and, if necessary, to teachers as well. Psychological assistance will be provided free of charge and without delay, but not later than within five working days since the incident of violence. In those cases where a person subjected to violence or an abuser is a minor, he or she must be accompanied by parents (guardians or carers) for a psychological consultation. Up until now, teachers have not been provided with psychological assistance in general education and vocational schools.
The Seimas has decided to regulate the definition of violence in this Law. Hence, the Law will also cover additional forms of violence, namely, bullying, cyber-bullying and child neglect. The Law defines bullying as intentional and repeated use of actions by a person or a group of people having some psychological or physical advantage against another person, with the aim of damaging the person’s reputation, violating the person’s dignity, offending the person, hurting the person’s feelings, or inflicting any other psychological or physical harm on the person. Child neglect is defined by the Law as insufficient response to the basic physical and spiritual needs of the child or failure to meet them by the parents (guardians or carers), thereby endangering the child’s physical, mental, emotional and social health and development.
