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TegenZinloosGeweld

This blog will be about the Dutch founding ‘TegenZinloosGeweld’ (against senseless violence). Stichting Zinloosgeweld (2023) gives us plenty of different information about its organisation.  TegenZinloosGeweld was set up in the 1976 with the initiatives to make topics such as bullying behavior, aggression and violence more discussible. They do different kinds of projects at primary- and high schools, residential areas, organisations, etc.. With these projects they hope realizing more visibility, offering a listening ear, directing more social cohesion, providing support and offering a shoulder where necessary. 

The founding uses a ladybug as symbol. This symbol was chosen, because it stands for love, luck, positive wishes and their approachable factor. A quote that they use is “You don't swat a ladybug away, you blow it away”. A reference to not use physical violence, but to resolve problems in a harmless way. 

The founding TegenZinloosGeweld stimulates, initiates and supports initiatives for improving the living, working and residential environment. The foundation strives for a more respectful society, in freedom of expression and opinion, where everyone is aware of the causes and consequences of bullying and violence. The foundation makes effort for more awareness. For a safe living environment where everyone feels at home. To spread this awareness, most schools in the Netherlands have a tile with the symbol of the ladybug laying on their schoolyard. This is to keep the young students aware of bullying and its consequences. 

The founding has its own website where they talk about different kinds of senseless violence, what senseless violence is, what you can do against it, etc.. As well as different kinds of bullying. They give you tips for what to do against bullying, tips for parents of a child who’s getting bullied, digital bullying, etc.. At the end of the blog I’ll add the link to the website. If you’re interested, please go ahead and check it out. It offers you a lot of information about violence and bullying. 

To summarize, the foundation TegenZinloosGeweld helps spreads awareness against violence and bullying throughout the entirety of the Netherlands. They hope people will realize the consequences of violence and bullying. Besides that, they hope to be a listening ear to the people that go through (senseless)violence and bullying. 

https://zinloosgeweld.nl/  


Bibliography:

-  Stichting Zinloosgeweld. (2023, July 25). Hoofdpagina - Zinloos geweld. Zinloos Geweld. Retrieved March 12 2025, from https://zinloosgeweld.nl/ 





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  1. Lara DüngfelderMarch 14, 2025 at 12:25 PM

    I really like the concept of TegenZinloosGeweld and their vision to fight against bullying. I was impressed, as it was already founded in 1976 and is still used in schools today. The tile of the ladybug is a good idea, because it is a visible reminder for students to be kind to each other and solve their problems without violence.
    I have to admit, that the title of this foundation (against senseless violence) did make me wonder at first, as it implies that violence does make sense sometimes. Nevertheless, I can imagine TegenZinloosGeweld to be very helpful for raising conciousness about bullying and its consequences.

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