Opening page overall explanation: 

• At JIS we believe all students have the right to grow and develop in a safe and healthy environment both at home and at school. 

• We recognize that as children grow and develop, they are increasingly influenced by their peers and by experiences outside the family environment. We also recognize that students’ vulnerability increases as they venture out into the world.

• We feel at JIS that it is our responsibility not only to recognize concerning student behavior, but to do all that we can to support and educate students and prevent peer-on-peer abuse.

• We look at all student behavior based upon a continuum and we utilize a contextual safeguarding approach, addressing any concerning student behavior both on and off campus, and supporting the safety and well being of all students involved.

• The JIS Peer-on-Peer Abuse Policy is linked and referenced in the JIS Child Safeguarding Policy. These policies are intended to be complementary and supportive in the overall safeguarding of students. The sensitive nature and specific issues involved with peer-to-peer behavior necessitates separate policies in order to follow best practice and be CIS/WASC compliant.

Peer-on-Peer Abuse Policy

At JIS we believe in supporting the safety and well-being of all our students both on and off campus. In working within a Contextual Safeguarding Approach, our Peer-on-Peer Abuse Policy complements, and enhances, our current Child Safeguarding Policies as well as our school-wide policies and divisional handbooks.  A contextual safeguarding approach recognizes that children have relationships beyond the family environment that could have elements of violence or abuse.  As children grow and develop, these extrafamilial relationships have an increasing influence and effect on their well-being and safety.  Contextual Safeguarding, therefore, expands the objectives of our child safeguarding policies and procedures in order to recognize that children can be exposed to abuse in a variety of social contexts.

As a school, we strive to work with all our constituents: students, parents, faculty/staff and alumni to nurture and protect, as well as to educate on issues of student safety and well-being. The Jakarta Intercultural School Leadership team, Faculty, Staff, and Board members are committed to the prevention, early identification, and appropriate management of peer-on-peer abuse (as defined below) both within and beyond the school grounds. 

In particular: 

• We believe that in order to protect children, all JIS members should be aware of the levels of risk in which our students may be exposed to various types of abuse.   

• We believe in instituting a schoolwide community, contextual safeguarding approach towards preventing and responding to peer-on-peer abuse. 

• We regard the introduction of this policy as a preventative measure.  We believe in order to tackle peer-on-peer abuse proactively, it is necessary to focus on all four of the following areas: 

  1. systems and structures

  2. prevention

  3. identification

  4. response/intervention

• We recognize increasing concern about the issue of peer-on-peer abuse, and wish to implement this policy in order to mitigate any harmful or discriminating  attitudes as well as peer-on-peer abuse in the school setting and beyond. 

• We encourage parents to hold us accountable on this issue, so that if their child is feeling unsafe as a result of the behavior of any of their peers, they should inform the School so that we can ensure that appropriate and prompt action is taken in response.  

Understanding Peer-on-Peer Abuse:

Peer-on-peer abuse is any form of physical, sexual, emotional and financial abuse, and/or coercive control exercised between children, and within children’s relationships (both intimate and non-intimate), friendships, and wider peer associations.

1. Peer-on-peer abuse can take various forms, including (but not limited to): serious bullying (including cyberbullying), relationship abuse, domestic violence and abuse, child sexual exploitation, youth and serious youth violence, harmful sexual behaviour and/or prejudice-based violence, including (but not limited to), gender-based violence.

2. Online peer-to-peer abuse is any form of peer-on-peer abuse with a digital element, for example, sexting, online abuse, coercion and exploitation, peer-on-peer grooming, threatening language delivered via online means, the distribution of sexualised content, and harassment. 

Definitions:(Adapted from Brookline/Hermitage School Policies)

Peer relationship abuse is defined as a pattern of actual or threatened coercive acts perpetrated by an adolescent or pre-adolescent against a current or former partner, and uses this pattern of behavior in order to gain power and maintain control over the partner.

Sexually abuse may include inappropriate, unwanted and non-consensual sexual language, touching, sexual threats/assault, penetrative and non-penetrative sex. (adapted NSPCC, 2018, UK)

Sexually harmful behavior may include unsolicited sexual comments, physical contact, suggestive gestures, In addition, non-consensual and unsolicited filming or distribution of photos, images, or videos of a sexual nature. 

Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behaviour among children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time.

Cyberbullying is the use of phones, instant messaging, email, chat, or any  social media and networking sites to harass, threaten or intimidate someone.

Sexting is when someone sends or receives a sexually explicit text, image or video. 

Hazing is a form of initiation ceremony that involves humiliation, abuse, and intimidation which may be used to induct newcomers.

Prejudiced Behavior refers to a range of hurtful behavior which causes someone to feel powerless, worthless, excluded or marginalised, and which is connected with prejudices around belonging, identity and equality in wider society (e.g. disabilities, special educational needs, ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds, gender, socio-economic status and sexual orientation and identity).

Pejorative language and/or slurs are defined as offensive terms used deliberately to show a lack of respect for a particular group of people.

This Peer-on-Peer Abuse Policy:

• is the School’s overarching policy for any issue that could constitute peer-on-peer abuse. It relates to, and should be read alongside, the JIS Child Safeguarding  Policy and any other relevant policies including, Technology User Agreement (TUA), Data Protection Policy, and retention of records, as well as student behavior and discipline handbooks (HS, MS, PIE, PEL).

• does not use the term ‘victim’ and/or ‘perpetrator’. At JIS, we take a contextual child safeguarding approach towards all individuals involved with any concerns or allegations about peer-on-peer abuse. This  includes those who are alleged to have been abused, as well as those who are alleged to have abused their peers.  Research has shown that many children who present with harmful behavior towards others, in the context of peer-on-peer abuse, are themselves vulnerable and may have been victimised by peers, parents or adults in the community prior to their abuse of peers

• uses the terms ‘child’ and ‘children’, which are defined for the purposes of this policy as any student attending Jakarta Intercultural School regardless of age.

• Uses “peer” as defined as any student receiving education services at JIS regardless of their age.

• recognizes that any type of abuse should never be passed off as “banter,” “just having a laugh,” or as “part of growing up.”

• applies to all members of the JIS Leadership team, Faculty, Staff, and Board. It is reviewed annually, and updated in the interim, as may be required, to ensure that it continually addresses the risks to which students are or may be exposed. 

Identifying Behavior

All behavior takes place along a continuum. It is essential to understand where a child’s behavior falls on that continuum in order to be able to respond appropriately to that behavior. When dealing with any alleged abusive behavior, which may involve reports of, for example, emotional and/or physical abuse, we utilize a modified form of Hackett's continuum (see below). The original continuum relates exclusively to sexual behaviors and is not exhaustive. This modified continuum is utilized in reference to, and in conjunction with, the divisional behavior handbooks at JIS. Each situation is assessed as individually unique, utilizing the following guidelines to ascertain where the alleged behavior falls on the continuum in order to decide how to appropriately respond to all involved parties.

Peer-on-Peer Behavior Continuum Model Modified [Hackett]

Recognizing Peer Abuse

It is important to deal with any situation of peer abuse promptly and sensitively. It is necessary to gather the information as soon as possible to get the true facts. It is equally important to deal with the information sensitively and think about the language used and the impact of that language on both the children and the parents when they become involved. We will strive to avoid language that may create a ‘blame’ culture and leave a child labelled.

An assessment of any incident between peers will always be completed by the Student Support Team (Principal, Vice Principal and Counselors) and take into consideration:

• the chronological and developmental ages of everyone involved.

• the difference in their power or authority in relation to age, race, gender, physical, emotional or intellectual vulnerability.

• all alleged physical and verbal aspects of the behavior and incident, and 
whether the behavior involved inappropriate sexual motivation.

• the degree of physical aggression, intimidation, threatening behavior or bribery

  • the effect on the victim/s
.

  • any attempts to ensure the behavior and incident is kept a secret.

  • the child or young person’s motivation or reason for the behavior and whether if they admit that it occurred
.

  • whether this was a one-off incident, or longer in duration.

Preventative Strategies 

Peer-to-peer abuse can and will occur on any site even with the most robust policies and support processes. JIS has an open supportive environment where we endeavor to educate all students to feel safe sharing information about anything that is upsetting or worrying them. We communicate with and educate our students through our guidance (PIE/PEL), Advisory (MS) and SLA (HS) lessons as well as our Health programs to address any peer behavior issues.   We provide our students open opportunities to talk things through rather than seek one-on-one opportunities to be harmful to one another. In addition, our child safeguarding education and training policies help make students aware of who they can turn to for support when concerns arise both on and off the JIS campus.  As a community of care and support JIS will endeavor to have all members (Faculty//Staff/Student/ and Parents) gain an awareness and sensitivity of peer-to-peer abuse issues.  

References: 

Farrer and Co Peer on Peer Abuse Toolkit

Hackett Continuum: 

 Safeguarding Network

CIS/WASC: Peer on Peer Abuse 

Brookline School and Hermitage School Policies