High school in Iqaluit was a challenging environment for Ruben Dewar, who vividly recalls incidents of violence such as being pushed down stairs and fights occurring in the washroom. Following his graduation in 2022, Dewar noted a notable uptick in violent occurrences, attributing them to students’ unresolved grief and lack of hope for a better future. However, official data from Nunavut’s Department of Education paints a different picture, indicating a decrease in reported violent incidents in schools since 2022. While 245 incidents were reported in the 2022-2023 academic year, the number plummeted to 101 in the subsequent year.
The decline in reported violence contrasts starkly with the staggering figure of over 1,000 incidents documented during the 2019-2020 school year, as revealed by a CBC investigation. According to the Nunavut government, caution should be exercised in interpreting the decrease due to the implementation of a new incident tracking system in 2022.
Justin Matchett, president of the Nunavut Teachers Association, criticized the government’s data collection methods post-2022 as “misleading,” asserting that numerous unreported incidents are transpiring. He highlighted that the current system heavily relies on teachers’ voluntary self-reporting, with only major incidents being documented while pervasive day-to-day abuse goes unnoticed. Matchett emphasized that the normalization of violent behavior in classrooms has desensitized teachers to incidents that should be classified as violent, such as verbal abuse.
Acknowledging the data’s limitations, the government acknowledged that the reported figures do not encapsulate the full extent of violence in schools. It admitted that the actual number of incidents is likely higher than what is officially recorded, labeling the data as “incomplete” but essential as part of a broader school safety assessment. Efforts have been made to enhance mental health support for students, introduce de-escalation training, and promote trauma-informed and culturally-responsive practices. Both Matchett and officials agree on the necessity of a clearer definition of violence to ensure accurate reporting of all incidents, major and minor alike.
As the current school year progresses, Matchett highlighted a concerning trend of escalating incidents, encompassing verbal, racial, and physical altercations between students and even directed at teachers. The surge in reported incidents underscores the need for comprehensive measures to address and curb violence in Nunavut schools.