More than half of Australian high school students believe “sometimes people deserve to be hit”, according to a new study.
The national survey by the Pat Cronin Foundation is based on recent pre-polling of 10,000 students attending the violence-prevention charity’s in-person presentations.
Nearly half (45%) of those surveyed think “some things need to be solved by force”, underscoring an urgent need for governments and communities to address how young people understand and respond to conflict.
Another disturbing finding from the study reveals 30% of males believe “most people respect others who use physical force”.
Additional survey findings reveaI 19% of students said that if you witness violence, you shouldn’t report it. Nearly 16% said they condoned violence, dropping to 6.5% after a presentation.
More than 14% of female students said that using physical force gets people’s respect, falling to 10.7% post presentation.
The new research follows an earlier Foundation survey suggesting that one-third of students believe that fighting can be a way to have fun, with a similar proportion admitting they liked watching fights at school.
“These results show we still have a long way to go when it comes to erasing ingrained attitudes to aggression,” Foundation director Matt Cronin said. “It’s unacceptable that so many students think violence is a way to resolve disputes.”
However, Cronin pointed out that the Foundation’s post-presentation polling demonstrates a “significant change” in these mindsets, with these figures dropping by as much as 15% after a single session with students.
Three of the Foundation’s evidence-based presentations, Violence is Never OK, Rethinking Anger and Think Carefully, Act Kindly, are currently on track to reach over 80,000 young Australians in 2026 – including 1900 in schools in Victoria, Canberra and NSW this week.
Cronin says broader uptake is needed.
“We’re encouraging all schools to partner with us to equip students with vital life skills, including managing anger and defusing conflict,” he said.
“I stress that schools don’t need to have a violence problem to benefit. The strategies that we offer are as much about staying safe as they are about regulating emotions and understanding their triggers.”