Every June 4, the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression is observed, a date that reminds us of the suffering endured by millions of children affected by wars, armed conflicts, and other forms of violence. Faced with this reality, it is easy to think that there is little we can do within our everyday contexts. However, while a single person may not be able to stop a war, each of us can help create environments that protect children and strengthen a culture that rejects violence. The Declaration of the Rights of the Child itself reminds us of our collective responsibility to ensure that all children grow up in conditions of protection, dignity, and full development.
Scientific research has shown that violence against children can be prevented by acting within the environments closest to them: schools, families, associations, and community spaces. These are the settings where relationships, values, and reference points are built, shaping how children interpret the world around them. The actions that have demonstrated the greatest social impact in preventing violence against children involve the entire community in protecting victims and creating environments where violence loses its appeal.
Numerous studies have identified the existence of a dominant coercive discourse that, from a very early age, pressures children to associate violence, domination, or aggressive behavior with attractiveness. This message reaches children through multiple channels of socialization and can influence the preferences, expectations, and relationships they develop later in life. Taking this evidence into account is essential for advancing truly effective prevention.
For this reason, schools and other educational settings have a decisive opportunity. The goal is not simply to teach that violence is wrong, but also to strip violence of its social appeal while simultaneously granting prestige and recognition to those who act with solidarity and courage in the face of aggression. When a community actively supports those who protect victims and rejects all forms of violence, it is building a culture of protection that reduces risks and fosters freer and safer relationships.
The construction of a society capable of responding on a large scale to aggression against children begins precisely in these everyday spaces. Citizens who learn from childhood to reject violence and respond to it peacefully will be better prepared to defend human rights whenever they are threatened. Remembering children who are victims of aggression also means accepting our responsibility in the present: to build, every day, communities that make protection, solidarity, and the defense of children a real and shared practice.
Primary Education Teacher.
Currently working on his doctoral thesis at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV).