According to the UNESCO’s Institute of Statistics, one third of the globe’s youth is bullied, although the numbers differ from country to country. For example, in Poland, one in ten students experiences school violence — physical or online (cyberbullying). Although awareness of this problem has been growing, the issue is not going away.
RESQL – research-based system for the prevention of violence in schools
Researchers from SWPS University (USWPS) studied the problem of violence in Polish schools. They gathered data from students, teachers, and parents, analyzed their needs and concerns, and developed a solution — the RESQL system for the prevention of violence in schools.
The system is a comprehensive tool that helps schools tackle the problem of violence and includes:
- A mobile app for students to report incidents
- An intervener’s panel for specially trained teachers
- Teaching materials
- Lesson plans
- Psychological and legal support if required.
The mobile application enables students to easily report acts of violence. The notification appears on the intervener’s panel and triggers an appropriate violence prevention procedure. The teaching materials on psychological determinants of violence and lesson plans provide additional educational value for both teachers and students. The materials have been tested by psychologists and educators from SWPS University in primary and secondary schools in Poland.
Read more about the RESQL system >>
“We have been researching different children and teen related problems for many years. While developing the app, we were working with middle school children, high school students, and teachers. We diagnosed their needs and concerns. While talking to them, we realized that incident reporting must be anonymous. We have also come to understand the power of witnesses – they do react to acts of bullying, if they know what to do. We also found out why students do not report acts of violence committed by their peers and what was required to change that. Throughout the project, we engaged many teams of teenagers. All this work resulted in developing the RESQL system, which meets the real needs of people,” says Dr. Małgorzata Wójcik, psychologist from SWPS University in Katowice, the Chief Expert on Teen Violence in the RESQL team.
“Break the Circle of Violence” information campaign
To raise the awareness of bullying in schools and offer professional help — the RESQL system — SWPS University ran an educational campaign (2024–2025) addressed to students, teachers and parents in Poland.
The campaign consisted of 5 videos presenting a bullying incident from various points of view — those of an aggressor, victim, supporter, onlooker, and a frenemy.
Watch the videos to understand how a single bullying incident looks like from different perspectives:
Aggressor perspective
Victim perspective
Supporter perspective
Onlooker perspective
Frenemy perspective
Additionally, USWPS organized a contest where schools competed by voting to win an implementation of the RESQL system in their institution. The goal was to encourage participation and raise awareness of the problem. Parents and students were our natural ambassadors as they shared the videos and encouraged their school authorities to implement the system.
To further encourage schools to participate in the contest, we produced additional 6 videos, starring our academics, educators, and administrative staff, who presented the RESQL tool and the whole project.
We also organized a series of webinars to educate our target groups on the topic of school violence, its prevention, and support for the victims of violence. On average, the live transmissions attracted over 700 viewers who watched the webinars from start to finish. All webinars reached 8,300 views in total, and garnered exclusively positive reviews.
Throughout two editions of the campaign (2024 and 2025):
- Nearly 1,000 schools applied to participate in the competition
- Over 140,000 people cast their votes
- RESQL was fully implemented in 200 schools, which means 80,000 students gained access to real, structured support.
RESQL expanding its reach
- Today, the RESQL system is already working in over 400 schools across Poland and supports 240,000 students — students whom we are not only protecting from violence, but also teach how to act, how to speak up, and believe that they can change the world around them.
- Recently, we have published the first national report on school violence, to be updated annually.
What is most important, the system and the information campaign were developed so that children and teenagers could face each day of school with a happy, not a terrified heart.
