“Subtle” violence: Young people's interactions in peer groups at school

The present paper aims at discussing the findings of the first author’s dissertation whose theme was the "subtle" expressions of violence that occur among young people in peer groups within the school. A field research was carried out to identify these small acts of violence, their relationship with the rules of the peer group and with the rules established by the school. As the focus of this research concerns “subtle” violence, the present work regards it as episodes of violence which are not related to physical aggression, but ones that can emerge as insulting nicknames or bad jokes. The fieldwork involved a total of twenty-four students, among boys and girls, from fifteen to seventeen years old. They studied in two schools, one private and one state, in the northern side of the city of Rio de Janeiro. The analysis of the results discusses the process of naturalization of "subtle" violence and presents the way by which these episodes pass unnoticed by educators and are trivialized within peer groups, especially among friends. It has been noticed that acts of revenge between groups are closely related to their own rules for grouping, such as rules for inclusion or permanence in the group. Moreover, young people demonstrated discredit towards actions taken by school staff to prevent such violence. It has also been noticed that the attitude of teachers varied from neglecting to criminalizing these conflicts and tensions among students. This point brings up issues relating to the role of adults nowadays in helping young people build an ethical code that is not limited to their small group’s interaction.