Gender-based school violence

School violence is a complex social phenomenon that differs in its appearance among students according to their different features, such as gender. According to the results of many surveys, boys are involved in violence more often than girls. According to the theories by P. Bourdieu and J. Butler, this differentiation is related to the formation of gender identity and the reproduction of gender discrimination. The present paper examines the ways in which students’ use of violence contributes to forming their gender identity, and how it is articulated through students’ statements and derogatory remarks. The sample of the study was 389 students. The questionnaire and the semi-structured interview were used as data collection tools. According to the survey, boys are to more likely manifest physical violence and, to a lesser extent, malicious rumors than girls. Students interpret the extent and type of violence they exhibit in biological / physical terms. Boys claim that it is their “nature” and that it is not “right” for a girl to exercise physical violence. Through statements and derogatory remarks made by boys and girls of this survey, it is shown how the various types of school violence illustrate how gender identity is formed and how gender discrimination is reproduced in a given social environment (i.e. in the Municipality of Ioannina, Epirus, Greece).