Red Cross to hold course on how to deal with violence in schools

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRD) is to hold a course for officials from the Municipal Secretariat of Education of Rio de Janeiro city on how to deal with violence in schools. Those attending the course, which is slated to begin in July, will have the responsibility to teach teachers in dangerous areas across the city what they learned.

The course was designed to include theoretical classes for five days, adding up to 36 to 40 hours, and should be divided into a number of modules on topics like crisis management, armed-violence situations in the city and the their impact on public agencies. Also to be carried out are simulation exercises with the teachers from Rio public schools.

According to Talma Suane, cabinet head of the secretariat, the idea for the course came about after an incident in the Maré favela complex, before Carnival time this year, which was recorded and shocked the secretariat, which started to look for solutions.

A fight between rival criminal organizations over the control of drug-trafficking spots in the favela led to a firefight, which forced local schools to keep their doors shut for three days in a row. A group was formed, Talma reported, including officials from the secretariat and six school directors, who held a series of meetings before requesting the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which had experience from previous training programs.

Attendance is not mandatory for all professionals. However, schools will be assigned a manager and a previously outlined plan of action for violence situations.

Suane further said that the secretariat will focus on regions more severely affected by violence, like the Maré and the Alemão favela complexes, and Cidade de Deus.

She made a point of stressing that the course is no training for war, but rather aims at the protection of lives. “We don't want people to say that schools are getting ready for war—on the contrary, our purpose is to protect human beings, protecting lives. The course is to be taught so that teachers and managers can deal with risk situations so often observed around us. Lack of knowledge breeds panic, so our goal is to teach these professionals to come up with a plan of action to address the issue,” she said.

According to Sandra Lefcovich, communication coordinator and spokeswoman for the regional delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the committee believes that the training will help the secretariat have more control over violence situations in key areas throughout the city.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira