Challenges

Globally, girls, boys, and LGBTQIA+ children experience and perpetuate different forms of violence. Girls experience sexual violence and psychological forms of bullying at higher rates, while boys experience corporal punishment and physical fighting. School-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) is increasingly recognized as a barrier to quality education and learning, particularly for girls and young women and LGBTQIA+ children. According to the most recent global estimates, approximately 20 to 37 per cent of 11- to 17-year-olds experienced some form of emotional, physical and sexual violence in and around school in the previous year.1 The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated incidences of domestic and intimate partner violence against women and girls, posing a greater risk of SRGBV as schools reopen. Data on the nature and scope of violence in and around schools, particularly the gendered norms and drivers of violence, is limited. Data collected through large-scale surveys do not sufficiently capture all forms of violence in schools, nor do they necessarily apply a gender analysis, and responses in and around school are not systematically tracked. A critical factor in the lack of data are inappropriate and non-existent reporting and response mechanisms that are safe, gender-responsive and child-friendly. Contextually relevant evidence of effective whole school interventions is also limited in low- and middle-income settings. Applying a comprehensive whole-school approach is widely recognized as good practice in working holistically to promote student health and well-being and echoes evidence from other school-based health and violence prevention initiatives.

Toward a Solution

In 2018, the Global Working Group to End SRGBV and UNGEI produced the guide, A Whole School Approach to Prevent School-Related Gender-Based Violence: Minimum Standards and Monitoring Framework, which lays out policies and actions to establish enabling school environments for better reporting and monitoring of SRGBV. Centred around evidence-based strategies to reduce violence against children, women and girls, the guide proposes eight domains and corresponding minimum standards that make up a whole-school approach.

The objective of the pilot initiatives in Zimbabwe and Sierra Leone was to test whether and how the guide’s eight domains and minimum standards can be operationalized in schools and at the district level. At the outset, visioning workshops brought together teachers, school heads, ancillary school staff, members of school development committees and students to identify entry points and practical actions to strengthen each of the eight domains.

The following interventions were implemented to fill the gaps identified during the visioning workshops:

• gender training, follow-up and action planning with school leaders, district education officials and principals to activate existing systems of reporting and accountability;
• teacher training on gender concepts, identifying acts of violence, and activating reporting and response; gender-responsive pedagogy and use of positive discipline;
• empower students and young women to recognize violence and to speak up through the TUSEME17 (“let us speak out” in Kiswahili) curriculums (in Zimbabwe) and student clubs and student councils;
• improve awareness of national laws and policies regarding gender-based violence, codes of conduct and use of corporal punishment; and
• establish or strengthen school codes of conduct with gender-responsive content that refers explicitly to acts of sexual violence and gender-based discrimination advocacy information sharing at national level through education coalitions and sector working groups.

The pilot activities were carried out in in Zimbabwe from October 2018 to December 2020 in 10 schools (five primary and five secondary) across two districts. In Sierra Leone they were carried out from October 2020 to January 2022 in 30 schools in three districts. The pilots showed promising results in shifting gender attitudes and beliefs, despite several challenges in implementation, including COVID- 19.

The interventions indeed shifted perceptions among stakeholders, especially girls and women, and saw teachers become committed to gender equality and to fostering a learner-centred environment. Girls were afforded greater involvement and leadership roles on student councils. The formation of student clubs helped improve awareness (especially among secondary school girls) of different forms of violence, particularly inappropriate touching and sexual harassment. Parents became engaged through the school development committees in prevention activities, contributing to a feeling that the school community had the potential to address violence. However, silence and stigma associated with gender-based violence (GBV) persisted, as did perceptions that violence against children is “normal”. 

Reporting systems were established and students and teachers became aware of the systems, but fear of retribution and perceptions about personal safety and confidentiality deterred students from reporting incidents. Schools adopted codes of conduct, but these did not address all forms of violence and did not adopt a zero- tolerance stance. The results made it clear that more work is needed to break the silence around GBV in education. Continued efforts are required to support teachers, school heads and district education officers to implement codes of conduct, establish reporting and referral mechanisms and monitor school violence. Additionally, changing social norms requires long-term investments and the active engagement of key stakeholders at all levels. At policy level, results from Zimbabwe were included in the Education Sector Analysis and the Sector Plan in 2020. The Ministry of Education became a signatory to the Safe to Learn Call to Action. In Sierra Leone, the UNGEI Whole School Minimum Standards were endorsed by the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education as a framework for action on preventing SRGBV in the education system. Baseline and endline assessments were carried out in Zimbabwe. In Sierra Leone an action research assessment was carried out at the outset of the assessment and continuous monitoring took place throughout the accompanied programme implementation. Countries continue to share experiences and lessons learnt.