Limiting peer violence is not just a school challenge. It is a phenomenon that arises and is also reflected in the family, the local, and the wider social community. We can reduce violence primarily through a holistic approach that includes connecting schools with organizations in their environment. Based on these starting points, we designed the project Systemic Approach to Peer Violence in VIZ – Model Model and Guidelines (NasVIZ for short), which is funded by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism program.

The material presented here is intended primarily for managers and professionals working in primary (and secondary) schools, and subsequently for anyone with a professional or personal interest in this topic. It was developed as part of a research project examining the role of emotions in addressing violence in schools. Through this work, we aim to encourage those involved in shaping school practices and policies at various levels to place even greater emphasis on contemporary insights into emotions in their efforts to reduce violence in the school environment.

There is no doubt that every child has the right to grow up in a safe, non-violent environment. However, children and adolescents spend a significant part of their daily lives in educational institutions, where they are in contact with a range of professionals, which have a responsibility to ensure children’s safety and to provide appropriate protection. To support children’s optimal psychophysical development and to safeguard them from potential abuse, it is important that professionals are adequately equipped with the necessary knowledge and clear protocols for working with children who are victims of abuse, as well as with other family members, including the perpetrator.

The authors have been engaged in research and professional practice in the field of domestic and school violence for many years, during which they have frequently met, connected, and collaborated successfully. With this initiative, we have launched a campaign entitled (O)Circle of Domestic and School Violence, which (re)emphasizes that the focus is first and foremost on dialogue about domestic and school violence and the connections between them.

This concise, three-part professional handbook on a comprehensive approach to peer violence in VIZ is the result of a strong partnership among the Institute of Criminology at the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana, Simona Jenko Primary School in Kranj, the Kranj Educational Institution, the Škrlovec Day Centre for Families and Adolescents (CSD Kranj), the Society for Nonviolent Communication, the European Wergeland Centre in Oslo, and the City Municipality of Kranj. The material was developed within the framework of the Systemic Approach to Peer Violence in VIZ – Model and Guidelinesproject (NasVIZ), supported by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism.

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