Skopje's Interior Ministry reported a new case of peer violence. A 17-year-old student from a high school in Karpoš municipality was physically attacked by her classmate, who - according to the report - had been psychologically abusing her for a long time.

The case was reported by the girl's father, O.S. (45) from Skopje, on 18 May at around 7:15 PM. According to the report, the physical attack happened that same day at around 2:30 PM, on school premises. Police are taking measures to investigate.

What makes this case especially serious is that it is not an isolated incident. The psychological abuse, according to the father, went on for a long stretch of time. In other words, the girl was living in fear before the physical attack ever happened. It's a story that repeats itself, and what you find inside it is a chain of institutional failures.

How many teachers at that school knew about the psychological abuse? How many of the attacker's parents received a warning before the case escalated? How many hours of counselling were there with a psychologist, and what came of them? All these questions stay open. The reality is that most high schools in North Macedonia don't have a functioning psychological service with proper resources. They have one psychologist for 1,500 students. That isn't a service - that's symbolism.

Peer violence in North Macedonia has a formula: it starts with words, continues with isolation and humiliation, and ends with physical violence. By the time it reaches the physical stage, it's already late. The victim's family carries psychological consequences that drag on for years. The attacker, in many cases, receives no serious consequence - because he's a minor, because people think "he'll grow out of it", because nobody has the energy to see it through.

What the media doesn't cover is how many cases stay unreported. Families who feel ashamed. Girls who eventually accept the abuse as "normal". Girls who switch schools without anything substantive being resolved. The question every school in North Macedonia should ask itself today is simple: do you know which girl in your school is right now afraid to come in tomorrow?