The reported attack on a 12-year-old boy in Nea Efkarpia, Thessaloniki, who was taken to hospital after being assaulted by a group of peers, raises a difficult but necessary question: what happens when aggression between children moves beyond an isolated conflict and becomes a collective act of violence?
Beyond reporting the incident and determining accountability, events like this invite us to examine the psychological and social conditions in which violence develops, as well as the role that families, schools, and the wider community can play in preventing it.
Violence Is More Than “Bad Behaviour”
Aggression during childhood and adolescence cannot be explained by a single cause. The development of emotional regulation, the ability to manage anger, the capacity to understand other people's feelings, and the need for acceptance among peers are all important aspects of this developmental period.
However, developmental immaturity does not excuse violence, nor does it mean that every child who displays aggression will become a violent adult. Rather, it reminds us of the importance of understanding behaviour without minimising its consequences.
When a child attacks another child, we need to consider not only what happened in that particular moment, but also the behavioural patterns they may have observed, their understanding of power and dominance, their ability to cope with frustration, and the ways in which their environment may reinforce or discourage aggression.
This does not mean that we can determine the motives of the children involved in a particular incident without an individual assessment. It means that prevention requires more than simply condemning the behaviour.
Why Can Being Part of a Group Change Behaviour?
Aggression involving several individuals targeting one child introduces an additional dimension: group dynamics.
During childhood and adolescence, belonging and peer acceptance become particularly important. Under certain circumstances, a child may participate in an aggressive act to gain acceptance, maintain their position within a group, or avoid becoming a target themselves.
The presence of others can also increase the perception of power, reduce individual inhibitions, and diffuse responsibility among participants. When several people are involved, each person may perceive their own contribution as less significant than it actually is.
This does not mean that every child in a group thinks or feels the same way. Some may initiate the aggression, others may follow, while others may remain passive observers.
Understanding these different roles is important, not to assign responsibility arbitrarily, but to recognise that preventing violence requires us to address the wider social environment in which children interact.
Bystanders Are Not Necessarily Indifferent
One of the most important issues in peer violence is the role of bystanders.
Not intervening does not always mean indifference or agreement. A child witnessing an assault may fear becoming the next target, may not know how to respond, or may believe that nobody will support them if they speak up.
Therefore, it is not enough to tell children to be brave. We need to create environments in which asking for help is not a source of shame and intervening does not require putting themselves in danger.
A safe response might involve alerting a trusted adult, calling for help, moving away from the situation if there is a risk of harm, or supporting the child who was targeted once it is safe to do so.
The message we need to communicate is clear: you do not have to face violence alone to prove that you are brave.
What Do Families and Schools Need to Do?
Prevention cannot rely exclusively on punishment after a serious incident. It requires consistent, coordinated, and sustained intervention.
Within families, this means establishing clear boundaries and enforcing them consistently, without humiliation or physical punishment. It also means allowing children to express anger, jealousy, frustration, and disappointment while teaching them that no emotion justifies harming another person.
In schools, addressing aggression requires clear reporting procedures, timely investigation, protection for the child being targeted, and meaningful collaboration with families. Creating a safe environment involves more than general appeals for respect; it requires concrete practices and the consistent implementation of rules.
At the same time, children who engage in violence need appropriate support. Accountability and proportionate consequences are not incompatible with exploring the factors that contributed to their behaviour. On the contrary, effective intervention seeks both to protect the child who experienced violence and to prevent further incidents.
The Consequences Do Not End When the Incident Is Over
For a child who has been assaulted, physical recovery does not necessarily mark the end of the experience. They may experience fear, heightened vigilance, sleep difficulties, avoidance of particular places, or anxiety about another attack.
These responses do not occur in the same way in every child, nor do they automatically indicate the presence of a mental health disorder. However, they warrant attention and support, particularly when they persist or interfere with everyday life.
The child needs to feel heard, believed, and protected through concrete actions taken by adults. They need to know that they are not responsible for the violence they experienced and that they are not expected to recover according to a particular timetable.
When appropriate, psychological support should be tailored to the child's needs rather than presented as yet another obligation.
Understanding Without Excusing
Perhaps the most important point is to avoid two equally problematic approaches: labelling children who engage in violence as “bad” or “beyond help,” on the one hand, and treating violence as inevitable because “children behave that way,” on the other.
Understanding does not eliminate responsibility. And accountability does not require dehumanisation.
We can recognise that a child is still developing while maintaining that physical violence is unacceptable. We can explore the circumstances that contributed to aggressive behaviour without minimising the harm experienced by another child.
This approach allows us to move beyond easy condemnation towards a more meaningful discussion about prevention, protection, and change.
Children's Safety Is a Collective Responsibility
The incident in Thessaloniki need not become merely another public discussion about violence among minors. It can be an opportunity to reflect on what children learn about power, conflict, acceptance, and boundaries.
What happens when aggression is rewarded with laughter, admiration, or social acceptance? What does a child learn when violence goes unchallenged? And what do they learn when an adult intervenes firmly, without humiliating anyone, while making it clear that violence is unacceptable?
Preventing violence is not the exclusive responsibility of families, schools, or mental health professionals. It is a collective responsibility that requires cooperation, consistency, and the active involvement of adults.
The goal is not simply to stop an act of violence. It is to create conditions in which a child does not need to hurt someone to feel powerful, remain silent to be accepted, or face fear alone.