Why High School Violence in Kenya has Increased in 2021

Kenya was ranked by WHO as among the top countries globally with increased high school violence incidence in 2017. The situation hasn’t improved as statistics of school violence in Kenyan high schools are still on the rise in 2021.

High school violence is defined as aggressive behavior exhibited by a high school student or group of students to another student or adult to cause physical harm, injury, and death.

The violence occurs within the high school compound, during high school events, or when students are on their way to or from school.

Verbal abuse, bullying, sexual harassment, slapping, fighting, shoving, threatening with a weapon, destroying school property, and cyberbullying are examples of school violence.

The increased prevalence of high school violence should prompt parents and educators to change their mindset from elevating academic excellence over moral and behavioral merit.

As a Kenyan, prioritizing the prevention of school violence by investing your time to instill values in the high school students in your environment can help curb the vice.

What Causes School Violence

There isn’t one particular factor that can be pinpointed; it is a combination of the highlighted factors below.

Media Impact

There’s no debate that the film industry have raised their bar in producing extremely violent movies. The video games then give you the mental feel of harming another person virtually, and you receive points for it.

Studies have shown that high school students who watch violent programs and engage in violent games have an increased tendency to have aggressive thoughts and behavior.

The recent case of the student who openly admitted to being influenced by a series to violently murder five of his family members is a sad example.

Social media has also opened up the world for the students; they can interact with extremely violent individuals/groups that accept and praise them for violent acts committed.

Prevention of school violence becomes more problematic with such influencers.

Limited Parental Presence

High school students may give an impression to their busy parents that they know how to handle themselves. They act mature and well-disciplined to a parent who has limited time with them.

A parent who spends ample time with their high school student will pick up on aggressive talk and behavior, and they get the opportunity to intervene before it gets out of hand.

As a parent, coach, or educator gaining this knowledge, your presence and supervision can help ease the effects of school violence.

Violence in the Home

A home filled with chaos, rejection, neglect, and abuse can easily be among the top examples of high school violence enablers. High school students who spend most of their lives in such an environment will exhibit aggressive behavior to feel powerful and in control as they have felt helpless most of their life.

On the other extreme, the high school student who has been a victim of violence in the home can become an easy target as a receiver of school violence.

Your concern about the prevention of school violence will help such a student.

Peer Pressure (Mob Psychology)

High school students are not exempted from mob psychology, which is the tendency of an individual to act differently, in this case aggressively, in a group.

A meek student can be pressured to engage in high school violence to avoid being bullied or to fit in a group.

Peer pressure makes the prevention of high school violence an uphill task as it is a challenge to control other high school students’ behavior in the absence of an adult.

A student would rather face the consequences vetted by an adult than the wrath of fellow students.

Substance Abuse

Statistics of school violence and substance abuse findings are closely related. The more available drugs are to high school students, the higher the chances of high school violence.

Aggressive behavior is a withdrawal symptom of students who use and now have no access to drugs in school. It is also the expected behavior of a student having recently used drugs in school.

One of the effects of school violence is a student starts using drugs to cope with the bullying. Then the drugs influence him to become the perpetrator of the violence, and the cycle continues.

The dynamics of what causes school violence become complex to handle when there is drug and alcohol involvement.

Community and Neighborhood Influence

Sometimes high school violence is a mirror of what high school students undergo in their communities and neighborhood. Some students are in gangs others pick up aggressive behavior to get resources or protect their loved ones.

Political influence in the community also leads to students planning school violence as they copy the violence the adults have modeled. A good example is the rise of high school fires since the 2007 post-election violence to-date.

How do you express your political affiliation? Is your conversation filled with hatred or care when you address people from a different community? The high school students are watching and copying how you handle yourself.

Mental Illness

High school students go through tough challenges, and some of them are the effects of school violence they experienced. The sharp rise in mental illness among students is due to a lack of proper channels to vent and receive guidance.

A high school student can become violent as a symptomatic episode of mental illness.

School administration needs to receive basic training in clinically evaluating students and referring those who need treatment to help with the prevention of school violence.

Rise in Godlessness

Godlessness leads to lawlessness is often used when a society or group of people go against expected moral behavior.

Kenya is said to be 80% Christian, but less than 20% actively practice their religion which also involves taking their children to church to be taught godly principles.

The lack of frequent biblical teachings means that high school students rarely get a chance of learning that God can save them from the bottled anger inside and the teenage life challenges they are going through.

The students are left to deal with their issues without the influence of spiritual guidance.

Why the Increase in High School Violence in 2021

• High school students spent 2020 watching violent movies and playing violent video games, unlike other years they would have been in school.
• Some high school students spent 2020 in their dysfunctional homes, leading them to bottle up anger that they can now express to their fellow students.
• Other students were targeted by adults and gangs who recruited and taught them aggressive behavior. Being out of school in 2020 allowed this to happen.
• Some students got introduced to drugs over the long break, which means the number of students using drugs is likely to have increased by 2021. Others experience aggressive withdrawal symptoms after using consistently for nine months and have no access in school.
• Covid 19 came with many challenges that affected all groups of people psychologically. The likely hood of more high school students having mental illness increased.
• The spiritual nourishment high school students receive in school wasn’t available for them, and those who attend church at home weren’t able to. They were cut off from the spiritual channel they had that helped them cope with life challenges.

Prevention of School Violence in Kenya in 2021

School Level

Instructional-based life skills programs that teach high school students coping skills and acceptable behavior.

Counseling students prone to aggressive tendencies.

Having strict school policies against high school violence with well-vetted disciplinary actions.

Provide readily available and non-biased conflict mediation and resolution avenues.

Being intentional about teaching students God’s word, not only hyping them with fun and music.

Employing security officers around the school.

Impromptu and frequent physical surveillance and checkups.

Nurturing school-community partnerships to protect students outside the school property.

Home Level

Spend ample time with your teenager talking and engaging in fun activities.

Involve your high school student in recreational activities to channel out their emotions.

Regularly take your student to a bible teaching church and play an active role at home in teaching them God’s word and the life principles found there.

Limit time spent on technology by your high school student.

Seek professional help for the student in the home who threatens or has carried out violent activities.

Community Level

Volunteer to mentor high school students and become their role model.

Community leaders to plan activities for the students that campaign against youth violence.

The adults to avoid heated debates and discussions in the presence of high school students.

Final Remarks

High school violence in Kenya has become a worrying trend that can be addressed when different stakeholders like principals, teachers, parents, and community leaders understand what causes school violence and the effects of school violence.

School violence statistics will only change when we deal with media exposure, violence in the home, peer pressure, substance abuse, Godlessness, and mental illness.

Building a good relationship with high school students and seeing them as teenagers who need guidance instead of a defiant age-group will help change their attitude.

You can involve Parenteen Kenya to offer life skills training to all students and counseling for students experiencing challenges.

Choosing to mentor a high school student will also go a long way in the prevention of school violence in 2021.

Accept the challenge and share your ideas in the comment section.

Jane Kariuki

Jane Kariuki is a devout Christian, Clinician, Psychologist, and founder of ParenTeen Kenya. She authored an exceptional training manual used in her teens’ workshop and an instructional guidebook for her parenting classes. If she is not training, blogging, or counseling, Jane loves to spend time with her sweet husband and three children.