Child suicide Prevent by SNS Local government and school cooperate August 30 15:02

As the summer vacation ends and new semesters begin in various locations, efforts are being made throughout the country to use Internet chat apps to help local governments and schools collaborate to prevent children's suicide and solve problems.

There is a tendency for children to commit suicide before and after the summer vacation, and local governments and support groups use telephones and LINE at this time to focus on consultations with children.

Of these, Sakai City, Chiba, introduced an application called “STOPit” for junior high school students two years ago to further draw out SOS from children.

This app allows people in the city's school board to interact with the children in real time by chat, allowing anonymous consultations.

On the other hand, there is a separate code for each school, and the children need to enter the code when they download the app, so the city can know the school name and grade.

On the 27th of this month, the Sakai City Board of Education held a meeting before the start of the new semester at the junior high school in the city on the 2nd of next month, and confirmed how to deal with it in preparation for increasing consultations. It was.

In the city, serious consultations are reported to the school so that students can be identified.

According to the city, last year, the number of consultations for junior high school students was 40 for “telephone”, but 165 for “apps”, and “bullying” that the school did not understand was found at an early stage. It was also possible.

According to the company that operates the app, the introduction of this app is currently in progress in more than 300 schools in 19 local governments including Sakai City.

Sakai City Board of Education Guidance Director Hitoto Sugawara said, “The app can be used to encourage children to consult. It is possible to recognize bullying and it is very effective.”

Sakai City “Promote an environment where consultation is easy”

In Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture, where we introduced an app called “STOPit” two years ago, a school board representative or school psychologist with experience in teaching is able to interact with children by chatting. The

Consultation is accepted on weekdays, but if it is judged to be urgent, it means that it is also available at night and on holidays.

As for this app, it is easy to use anonymously and safely even for children who are not good at communication compared to consultation by phone in the city, and since it can grasp the school name and school year compared to other SNS, it solves It is said that it is a great advantage to be able to cooperate with the school for

In addition, in order to create an easy-to-use environment, there are classes that explain how to use it for junior high school students together with the operating company, and not only children who have trouble but also children around them who have witnessed bullying. Is calling for use.

According to the city, serious consultations such as "I'm beaten or kicked", "I want to die", "I'm painful" have been received one after another, and rants such as "Why were you alive?" In some cases, the written SNS screen was sent, and this means that multiple counselors are available.

Of these, in the case where the message “I want to die” has been sent, the city has sent messages that “I am worried about you” and “You are not alone” so that contact is not interrupted.

After that, writing that was conscious of “death” continued, and the person in charge repeated over 100 times, including dealing with holidays and outside consultation hours.

It is said that the city has been urgently informed and contacted the school, and the school was able to grasp the child.

Also, in the consultation that says "Kuz", "Death", etc., we listened in detail to the exchanges between the parties, and said, "Can I consult with the school about what you are in trouble?" I got the consent and reported it to the school.

The school didn't know about this bullying, but after that, there was a report from the person that "I have no more bullying. Thank you".

In city, we want to continue making environment that it is easy to consult to draw out SOS of children.

Athletes also call

As the movement to call for support through SNS and support via the Internet is spreading to children with problems, the video distribution that athletes call for advice to people around them began on the 26th of this month.

This video was made by calling “Stop It Japan”, a consult-only app, with athletes, Hideki Matsui who played an active role in major leagues, Yankees, etc., Masaru Ihara, former soccer representative from Japan, Mr. Shingo Kunieda and others of wheelchair tennis are also participating.

Among these, Mr. Matsui has called, “Daisai is bullying a weak person unilaterally, and bullying a person must be the best.”

Kunieda-san said, “Both bullyed and bullyed people will remain a bad memory for life,” and Mr. Ihara said, “Someone around me always watches over me. Sending a message to the children that there is a partner.

In addition, when Mr. Tomoaki Imai of wheelchair rugby jumped into the pool when he was in the third grade of junior high school, he hit his head and lived in a wheelchair. Participated to tell.

Imai-san said, “I had a hard time, so I wanted to help someone. If my family, friends, or people close to me, I think it might help me.” It is.

This video can be seen on YouTube and TikTok, and the planned “Stop It Japan” representative Daisaburo Taniyama said, “When an athlete hits a difficult point, he consults someone and gets over. I hope I can talk to someone who can trust me as much as possible. "

Expert Child SOS ... SNS from phone

According to Professor Daisuke Fujikawa of the Faculty of Education, Chiba University, who is familiar with the problem of bullying children, there has been a phone call as a way for children to appeal for SOS, but recently, the use of SNS is increasing.

Professor Fujikawa said that consultations at SNS are expanding: “Currently children rarely make calls or emails to strangers, and are used to SNS chat. , The psychological hurdles for consultation are low, which leads to easy consultation. "

On the other hand, because it is an anonymous exchange, it is difficult to identify the consulted children, and it points out that there is a problem when the urgency is high.

Professor Fujikawa said about the introduction of an app that can understand the school and school year, “The problem of bullying is difficult to solve only by children, the school side recognizes bullying and the response starts from there. Completely anonymous consultation is for children While it is easy to consult, it is difficult for the school to handle.The school and the school year can be grasped, so it is easier to collaborate, and for the children, it is safe to say that the teacher is worried by taking an organized approach. I think that a feeling will be born. "

In addition, he says, “Having troubles alone makes it difficult to solve the problems. Children need a variety of consultation desks, and it is necessary to continue to create an environment that is easy to consult.”