This document discusses school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV). It defines SRGBV and outlines its various manifestations around the world. The document then discusses the prevalence of SRGBV, noting it is widespread but underreported. Studies in Africa have found high rates of sexual harassment and relationships between students and teachers. The drivers of SRGBV are entrenched social and cultural gender norms that subordinate girls as well as times of crisis which can increase girls' risk. Schools may unintentionally reinforce harmful gender norms.
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention (IJHSSI)inventionjournals
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention (IJHSSI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of Humanities and Social Science. IJHSSI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Humanities and Social Science, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online.
By 2021, Education Cannot Wait aims to reach 8.9 million children and youth living in areas affected by fragility, conflict and violence. Half of them will be girls. In all, this means reaching over 4.4 million girls living in some of the worst conditions on the planet with safe, reliable education, gender-responsive multi-year educational resilience programming, and the support and resources they need to thrive.
Education is a human right that often goes unfulfilled when crisis hits. While crises don’t necessarily ‘pick their victims’ based on gender, the effects of gender inequality are often magnified. Recent analysis indicates that worldwide around 39 million girls are out of school, or have had their education disrupted, because of war and disaster.
The social-cultural expectations and customs that already exist in these communities often heighten gender discrimination and continue to perpetuate unequal education opportunities. This means girls can’t go to school. It means girls are at increased risk of sexual violence and exploitation. It means girls lose their voice. And when girls lose their voice, our work to build a more equal, more peaceful world as outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals begins to unravel.
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention (IJHSSI)inventionjournals
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention (IJHSSI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of Humanities and Social Science. IJHSSI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Humanities and Social Science, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online.
By 2021, Education Cannot Wait aims to reach 8.9 million children and youth living in areas affected by fragility, conflict and violence. Half of them will be girls. In all, this means reaching over 4.4 million girls living in some of the worst conditions on the planet with safe, reliable education, gender-responsive multi-year educational resilience programming, and the support and resources they need to thrive.
Education is a human right that often goes unfulfilled when crisis hits. While crises don’t necessarily ‘pick their victims’ based on gender, the effects of gender inequality are often magnified. Recent analysis indicates that worldwide around 39 million girls are out of school, or have had their education disrupted, because of war and disaster.
The social-cultural expectations and customs that already exist in these communities often heighten gender discrimination and continue to perpetuate unequal education opportunities. This means girls can’t go to school. It means girls are at increased risk of sexual violence and exploitation. It means girls lose their voice. And when girls lose their voice, our work to build a more equal, more peaceful world as outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals begins to unravel.
Consequences of Teenage Parenting Styles on The Attainment of Educational Goa...AJHSSR Journal
The greatest global investment whose productivity leads to rapid economic growth is education.
Despite this fact, teenage parenting and the subsequent parenting styles had consequences on the attainment of
educational goals as was revealed by a study that was carried out in Mumias Sub-county to find out the kind of
consequences that teen motherhood and teen fatherhood had on a secondary school students‟ academic
achievement. Two objectives were set to find out the prevalence rate of teenage parenting and to determine the
kind of contributions the problem had on educational accessibility. The population consisted of 55 principals,
269 teachers and 4,143 students from three classes out of the four classes in the sampled out schools. One third
of the population was taken for each of the three categories of respondents which gave 18 principals heading
mixed gender secondary schools, 89 class teachers and 1,367 studentsboth male and female. The students were
selected using the simple-random sampling alongside purposive sampling where the teen-agers were targeted, as
the stratified random sampling technique targeted principals and teachers from public mixed gender secondary
schools. The study area had four divisions namely, South Wanga, WangaMkulu, East Wanga and Mumias
Central from which the eighteen schools were identified. To collect data, questionnaires were designed for
students, teachers and principals. Descriptive statistics namely frequency counts and percentages was used to
analyze the quantitative data which was then presented in tables. The study found that teenage parenting styles
had consequences on the attainment of educational goals and the recommendations are that guidance and
counseling should be intensified by not only the Ministry of Education at the school level, but also by the local
administration to include parents to teenagers in public forums. Guidance and Counseling should help curb the
problem of teenage parenting in order to remedy the consequences on the attainment of educational goals.
The adolescent stage is a period of turmoil marked with enormous vibrancy, discovery, innovation and hope and also the time when many of them initiate sexual relationships and involvement. This can be a challenging time for young people who are becoming aware of their sexual and reproductive rights and needs, and who rely on their families, peers, schools, media and health service providers for affirmation, advice, information and the skills to navigate is sometimes a difficult transition to adulthood. The subject on sex has been surrounded by mystery and beclouded by dark silence as neither parents nor teachers are ready to discuss it with teenagers despite unplanned pregnancies, dropping out of school by students, Sexually Transmitted Infections among teenagers. The study investigated influence of teen contraceptive use) on academic achievement among public secondary school students in Bungoma South Sub-County, Kenya. The study adopted Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory postulated in 1986. A descriptive research design was used with target population of 3774 Form 3 students. A sample of 400 students was selected using, Miller, L.R. & Brewer, J.D. (2003) mathematical formula and stratified randomly from 52 schools and conveniently selected equally between boys and girls. Data was collected using structured interview schedule and questionnaire and analyzed descriptively. Results highlights most students were aware about contraceptive use with females slightly more than males and media was the major source of information on contraceptive use while parents/guardians had no significant contribution since teenagers rarely receive their first information on sexual matters from their parents. More than half of the sexually active students used contraceptives though it still interfered with their academic performance. This paper points at sex education curriculum in schools, setting up reproductive health institutions for the youth and distribution of contraceptives among teenagers which has a bearing on students’ performance.
Hidden in Plain Sight: A statistical analysis of violence against childrenUNICEF Publications
Interpersonal violence – in all its forms – has a grave effect on children: Violence undermines children’s future potential; damages their physical, psychological and emotional well-being; and in many cases, ends their lives. The report sheds light on the prevalence of different forms of violence against children, with global figures and data from 190 countries. Where relevant, data are disaggregated by age and sex, to provide insights into risk and protective factors.
Note: National police statistics for some countries record lower homicide levels than the statistical estimates shown here (which are derived from World Health Organization analyses for the Global Burden of Disease 2010 Study). The Government of Rwanda has advised that they consider the statistical estimates in this table to be too high (official letter). WHO is currently undertaking new analyses for overall homicide death rates for Member States, which will incorporate substantially greater use of national police statistics, and expects to release these at the end of 2014. UNICEF will then update its estimates of homicides of children and adolescents accordingly.
Adolescence is a key period for intervention among at-risk populations of youth, as this is when risk-taking behaviors tend to emerge. The Sustainable Development Goals for achieving 2030 youth health targets outline two issues central to reduce risks of gendered violence, sexual violence (SV) and adolescent sexual risk taking: (1) gender equity and (2) mental health promotion education. Only half of women reported having the autonomy to make their own decisions regarding sexual relations, usage of contraception and access to health care services. In developing countries women and children are extremely vulnerable to sexual violence which thereby places them at increased risk for contracting STIs from the perpetrator, as well as pregnancy as a result of SV. Undocumented minors; unaccompanied minors; refugees; child soldiers; youth post natural disasters; orphans; street-involved youth; and youth without parental care or financial means who are exposed to dangerous people or places are most vulnerable to sexual violence. UNICEF states that ending cases of new HIV infections by 2030 is unlikely, due to large concentrations of new infections occurring in areas where transactional sex, child sexual exploitation, drug use, street involved youth and SV are prevalent. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), which include forms of childhood maltreatment, increase the risk of contracting STIs. In particular, sexual abuse is linked with increased likelihood for risky sexual behavior, making victims vulnerable to poor sexual health outcomes.7 Protecting youth from exposure to SV and providing adolescents with sexual and mental health education are central to promoting resilience in youth.
During the past century, social policies and programs for Nigerian children, youth, and families have undergone frequent shifts in philosophy and direction. Many policy frameworks, such as selective legibility universal prevention, rehabilitation, and punishment, have contributed to the conceptual bases for services, programs, and interventions designed for young people. However, the most consistent characteristic of Nigerian social policy for children and families may be the sheer inconsistency of efforts aimed at helping the nation’s most vulnerable populations. Recent advances in understanding the developmental processes associated with the onset and persistence of childhood and adolescent problems warrant new thinking about policies and programs., we have learned more about why some children and adolescents develop social and health problems, and in the case of such problems as sexually transmitted infections, drug use, and delinquency why some youths make choices that lead to poor outcomes at home and in school and the community. Unfortunately, this knowledge is not yet systematically applied to policy or program design, which results in poorly specified, inadequately integrated, and wastefully duplicated services for children and families. The motivation for this volume comes from the growing recognition that knowledge gained from understanding the developmental trajectories of children who experience social and health problems must be used to craft more effective policies and programs.
Working with Traumatized Children and Families across Culture - UC - Irvine -...Université de Montréal
GRAND ROUNDS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA – IRVINE
UCI MEDICAL CENTER
APRIL 25, 2018
Title: Working with Traumatized Children and Families across Culture
Presenter: Vincenzo Di Nicola, MPhil, MD, FRCPC, DFAPA
Professor of Psychiatry, University of Montreal and The George Washington University
Abstract:
This presentation presents a model of working with traumatized children and families across culture. When it comes to trauma in children, we need to address three basic questions:
(1) why development matters, (2) why family matters, and (3) why culture matters (Di Nicola, 1992, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2012, 2018; Di Nicola & Song, forthcoming).
These three aspects of children’s lives are reviewed as key critical contexts to understand the “sequential traumatizing” (Keilson, 1992) of young people as highlighted in two clinical vignettes. In the first vignette, “A Train of Traumas,” the layers of the trauma history of an immigrant child and his family from the Maghreb are teased out as an imbricated series of triggers across developmental, cultural and family predicaments. “The Memory Clinic,” the second vignette, revisits the story of an adolescent refugee from a war-torn country in the Middle East whose quest was to forget her trauma. Exposed first to civil war and the loss of her family, then arriving in Montreal as a refugee with her extended family where she was abused, this vignette presents issues about how to create the conditions for listening to the “trauma story” (Mollica, 2009) as enlightened witnesses and the emerging understanding of traumatic memory through identity narratives (Novac, et al, 2017). Together, these vignettes highlight the conditions required for the practice of “trauma-informed care” with children and families across culture.
Keywords: Sequential traumatisation, cultural family therapy, transcultural child psychiatry, trauma-informed care, identity narrative
Learning Objectives:
The presentation will sensitize participants to appreciate basic questions about working with traumatized children and their families across culture to create trauma-informed care:
1. Why development matters – and how it changes the clinical presentation of trauma at different ages;
2. Why family matters – and how it creates models for the experience of trauma that attenuate or amplify both developmental neurobiology and sociocultural influences;
3. Why culture matters – and how it offers or limits the range of socially privileged perceptions and culturally sanctioned solutions.
College Students' Attitude towards Premarital Sex: Implication for Guidance a...AJSERJournal
In many African countries, discussing sexuality still remains a taboo, despite the increasing number of
sexual activities among college students. The study sought to find out college students attitude towards premarital sex
and the implication of guidance and counselling. It was guided by the social learning theory. Using a descriptive survey
design data was collected through personally delivered questionnaire to 452 students who were randomly selected
from middle level colleges in Nakuru County. The questionnaire was validated through piloting in one college outside
Nakuru. Reliability coefficient for questionnaire was estimated through test-retest method and Cronbach’s alpha stood
at R=84. Data was analyzed using qualitative and quantitative data. Study findings indicate that 258 or 57% of the
respondents were liberal about premarital sex and viewed it as a normal act that should not attract criticism. A total of
194 or 43% were conservative and believed that it is against the norms of society and the teachings of the church.
Factors associated with premarital sex, include love, peer pressure, drug abuse and economic factors. Counselling was
seen as the best strategic to handle sex issues, but was not effective due to stigma associated with premarital sex. The
study recommended the college administrators step up strategies to supervise both the social and academic life of the
students. By providing them with information, to make informed consent on sexual matters.
EFFECT OF PARENTS’ INFLUENCE ON SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR AMONG STUDENTS IN SECONDAR...paperpublications3
Abstract:Increased sexual liberty and early initiation of adolescents into sexual activities have led to irresponsible and risky sexual behaviors among the adolescents. However, regardless of the availability of various sources of information about sexuality and reproduction, the adolescents are yet to adopt safe sexual behaviors. This has raised questions about the effects of parents on sexual behaviors among adolescent students. This study sought to investigate the effects parents' influence on the sexual behaviors among students in secondary schools in Nyahururu Division, Laikipia County. This study adopted an ex post facto research design. A random sample, of 338 respondents, was chosen from the seven randomly selected schools. Data was collected through administration of a structured questionnaire to the selected respondents. The collected data was then processed and analyzed descriptively using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 17 for Windows. The content validity of the research instrument was established by ascertaining that it contained information that answered the research objectives. The instrument was piloted to ensure reliability and it gave a reliability coefficient of 0.82. The study finding indicated that most parents encouraged their adolescent children to have good sexual behaviors. They, however, lacked effective communication skills to pass their good intentions to their adolescent children and thus making their discussions on sexual matters boring and uninteresting. The study recommends the need for parents to adopt effective communication skills that could enable them pass their good sexual intentions to their adolescent children.
Keywords:Parental Influence, Sexual behaviors, Sexual problems, Adolescent, Sex related information, Parent.
Brown, sidney l. the impact of middle schools health on dropout rates schooli...William Kritsonis
Dr. Kritsonis has traveled and lectured extensively throughout the United States and world-wide. Some international travels include Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, Turkey, Italy, Greece, Monte Carlo, England, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Poland, Germany, Mexico, the Caribbean Islands, Mexico, Switzerland, Grand Cayman, Haiti, St. Maarten, St. John, St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. Lucia, Puerto Rico, Nassau, Freeport, Jamaica, Barbados, Martinique, Canada, Curacao, Costa Rico, Aruba, Venezuela, Panama, Bora Bora, Tahiti, Latvia, Spain, Honduras, and many more. He has been invited to lecture and serve as a guest professor at many universities across the nation and abroad.
Consequences of Teenage Parenting Styles on The Attainment of Educational Goa...AJHSSR Journal
The greatest global investment whose productivity leads to rapid economic growth is education.
Despite this fact, teenage parenting and the subsequent parenting styles had consequences on the attainment of
educational goals as was revealed by a study that was carried out in Mumias Sub-county to find out the kind of
consequences that teen motherhood and teen fatherhood had on a secondary school students‟ academic
achievement. Two objectives were set to find out the prevalence rate of teenage parenting and to determine the
kind of contributions the problem had on educational accessibility. The population consisted of 55 principals,
269 teachers and 4,143 students from three classes out of the four classes in the sampled out schools. One third
of the population was taken for each of the three categories of respondents which gave 18 principals heading
mixed gender secondary schools, 89 class teachers and 1,367 studentsboth male and female. The students were
selected using the simple-random sampling alongside purposive sampling where the teen-agers were targeted, as
the stratified random sampling technique targeted principals and teachers from public mixed gender secondary
schools. The study area had four divisions namely, South Wanga, WangaMkulu, East Wanga and Mumias
Central from which the eighteen schools were identified. To collect data, questionnaires were designed for
students, teachers and principals. Descriptive statistics namely frequency counts and percentages was used to
analyze the quantitative data which was then presented in tables. The study found that teenage parenting styles
had consequences on the attainment of educational goals and the recommendations are that guidance and
counseling should be intensified by not only the Ministry of Education at the school level, but also by the local
administration to include parents to teenagers in public forums. Guidance and Counseling should help curb the
problem of teenage parenting in order to remedy the consequences on the attainment of educational goals.
The adolescent stage is a period of turmoil marked with enormous vibrancy, discovery, innovation and hope and also the time when many of them initiate sexual relationships and involvement. This can be a challenging time for young people who are becoming aware of their sexual and reproductive rights and needs, and who rely on their families, peers, schools, media and health service providers for affirmation, advice, information and the skills to navigate is sometimes a difficult transition to adulthood. The subject on sex has been surrounded by mystery and beclouded by dark silence as neither parents nor teachers are ready to discuss it with teenagers despite unplanned pregnancies, dropping out of school by students, Sexually Transmitted Infections among teenagers. The study investigated influence of teen contraceptive use) on academic achievement among public secondary school students in Bungoma South Sub-County, Kenya. The study adopted Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory postulated in 1986. A descriptive research design was used with target population of 3774 Form 3 students. A sample of 400 students was selected using, Miller, L.R. & Brewer, J.D. (2003) mathematical formula and stratified randomly from 52 schools and conveniently selected equally between boys and girls. Data was collected using structured interview schedule and questionnaire and analyzed descriptively. Results highlights most students were aware about contraceptive use with females slightly more than males and media was the major source of information on contraceptive use while parents/guardians had no significant contribution since teenagers rarely receive their first information on sexual matters from their parents. More than half of the sexually active students used contraceptives though it still interfered with their academic performance. This paper points at sex education curriculum in schools, setting up reproductive health institutions for the youth and distribution of contraceptives among teenagers which has a bearing on students’ performance.
Hidden in Plain Sight: A statistical analysis of violence against childrenUNICEF Publications
Interpersonal violence – in all its forms – has a grave effect on children: Violence undermines children’s future potential; damages their physical, psychological and emotional well-being; and in many cases, ends their lives. The report sheds light on the prevalence of different forms of violence against children, with global figures and data from 190 countries. Where relevant, data are disaggregated by age and sex, to provide insights into risk and protective factors.
Note: National police statistics for some countries record lower homicide levels than the statistical estimates shown here (which are derived from World Health Organization analyses for the Global Burden of Disease 2010 Study). The Government of Rwanda has advised that they consider the statistical estimates in this table to be too high (official letter). WHO is currently undertaking new analyses for overall homicide death rates for Member States, which will incorporate substantially greater use of national police statistics, and expects to release these at the end of 2014. UNICEF will then update its estimates of homicides of children and adolescents accordingly.
Adolescence is a key period for intervention among at-risk populations of youth, as this is when risk-taking behaviors tend to emerge. The Sustainable Development Goals for achieving 2030 youth health targets outline two issues central to reduce risks of gendered violence, sexual violence (SV) and adolescent sexual risk taking: (1) gender equity and (2) mental health promotion education. Only half of women reported having the autonomy to make their own decisions regarding sexual relations, usage of contraception and access to health care services. In developing countries women and children are extremely vulnerable to sexual violence which thereby places them at increased risk for contracting STIs from the perpetrator, as well as pregnancy as a result of SV. Undocumented minors; unaccompanied minors; refugees; child soldiers; youth post natural disasters; orphans; street-involved youth; and youth without parental care or financial means who are exposed to dangerous people or places are most vulnerable to sexual violence. UNICEF states that ending cases of new HIV infections by 2030 is unlikely, due to large concentrations of new infections occurring in areas where transactional sex, child sexual exploitation, drug use, street involved youth and SV are prevalent. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), which include forms of childhood maltreatment, increase the risk of contracting STIs. In particular, sexual abuse is linked with increased likelihood for risky sexual behavior, making victims vulnerable to poor sexual health outcomes.7 Protecting youth from exposure to SV and providing adolescents with sexual and mental health education are central to promoting resilience in youth.
During the past century, social policies and programs for Nigerian children, youth, and families have undergone frequent shifts in philosophy and direction. Many policy frameworks, such as selective legibility universal prevention, rehabilitation, and punishment, have contributed to the conceptual bases for services, programs, and interventions designed for young people. However, the most consistent characteristic of Nigerian social policy for children and families may be the sheer inconsistency of efforts aimed at helping the nation’s most vulnerable populations. Recent advances in understanding the developmental processes associated with the onset and persistence of childhood and adolescent problems warrant new thinking about policies and programs., we have learned more about why some children and adolescents develop social and health problems, and in the case of such problems as sexually transmitted infections, drug use, and delinquency why some youths make choices that lead to poor outcomes at home and in school and the community. Unfortunately, this knowledge is not yet systematically applied to policy or program design, which results in poorly specified, inadequately integrated, and wastefully duplicated services for children and families. The motivation for this volume comes from the growing recognition that knowledge gained from understanding the developmental trajectories of children who experience social and health problems must be used to craft more effective policies and programs.
Working with Traumatized Children and Families across Culture - UC - Irvine -...Université de Montréal
GRAND ROUNDS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA – IRVINE
UCI MEDICAL CENTER
APRIL 25, 2018
Title: Working with Traumatized Children and Families across Culture
Presenter: Vincenzo Di Nicola, MPhil, MD, FRCPC, DFAPA
Professor of Psychiatry, University of Montreal and The George Washington University
Abstract:
This presentation presents a model of working with traumatized children and families across culture. When it comes to trauma in children, we need to address three basic questions:
(1) why development matters, (2) why family matters, and (3) why culture matters (Di Nicola, 1992, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2012, 2018; Di Nicola & Song, forthcoming).
These three aspects of children’s lives are reviewed as key critical contexts to understand the “sequential traumatizing” (Keilson, 1992) of young people as highlighted in two clinical vignettes. In the first vignette, “A Train of Traumas,” the layers of the trauma history of an immigrant child and his family from the Maghreb are teased out as an imbricated series of triggers across developmental, cultural and family predicaments. “The Memory Clinic,” the second vignette, revisits the story of an adolescent refugee from a war-torn country in the Middle East whose quest was to forget her trauma. Exposed first to civil war and the loss of her family, then arriving in Montreal as a refugee with her extended family where she was abused, this vignette presents issues about how to create the conditions for listening to the “trauma story” (Mollica, 2009) as enlightened witnesses and the emerging understanding of traumatic memory through identity narratives (Novac, et al, 2017). Together, these vignettes highlight the conditions required for the practice of “trauma-informed care” with children and families across culture.
Keywords: Sequential traumatisation, cultural family therapy, transcultural child psychiatry, trauma-informed care, identity narrative
Learning Objectives:
The presentation will sensitize participants to appreciate basic questions about working with traumatized children and their families across culture to create trauma-informed care:
1. Why development matters – and how it changes the clinical presentation of trauma at different ages;
2. Why family matters – and how it creates models for the experience of trauma that attenuate or amplify both developmental neurobiology and sociocultural influences;
3. Why culture matters – and how it offers or limits the range of socially privileged perceptions and culturally sanctioned solutions.
College Students' Attitude towards Premarital Sex: Implication for Guidance a...AJSERJournal
In many African countries, discussing sexuality still remains a taboo, despite the increasing number of
sexual activities among college students. The study sought to find out college students attitude towards premarital sex
and the implication of guidance and counselling. It was guided by the social learning theory. Using a descriptive survey
design data was collected through personally delivered questionnaire to 452 students who were randomly selected
from middle level colleges in Nakuru County. The questionnaire was validated through piloting in one college outside
Nakuru. Reliability coefficient for questionnaire was estimated through test-retest method and Cronbach’s alpha stood
at R=84. Data was analyzed using qualitative and quantitative data. Study findings indicate that 258 or 57% of the
respondents were liberal about premarital sex and viewed it as a normal act that should not attract criticism. A total of
194 or 43% were conservative and believed that it is against the norms of society and the teachings of the church.
Factors associated with premarital sex, include love, peer pressure, drug abuse and economic factors. Counselling was
seen as the best strategic to handle sex issues, but was not effective due to stigma associated with premarital sex. The
study recommended the college administrators step up strategies to supervise both the social and academic life of the
students. By providing them with information, to make informed consent on sexual matters.
EFFECT OF PARENTS’ INFLUENCE ON SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR AMONG STUDENTS IN SECONDAR...paperpublications3
Abstract:Increased sexual liberty and early initiation of adolescents into sexual activities have led to irresponsible and risky sexual behaviors among the adolescents. However, regardless of the availability of various sources of information about sexuality and reproduction, the adolescents are yet to adopt safe sexual behaviors. This has raised questions about the effects of parents on sexual behaviors among adolescent students. This study sought to investigate the effects parents' influence on the sexual behaviors among students in secondary schools in Nyahururu Division, Laikipia County. This study adopted an ex post facto research design. A random sample, of 338 respondents, was chosen from the seven randomly selected schools. Data was collected through administration of a structured questionnaire to the selected respondents. The collected data was then processed and analyzed descriptively using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 17 for Windows. The content validity of the research instrument was established by ascertaining that it contained information that answered the research objectives. The instrument was piloted to ensure reliability and it gave a reliability coefficient of 0.82. The study finding indicated that most parents encouraged their adolescent children to have good sexual behaviors. They, however, lacked effective communication skills to pass their good intentions to their adolescent children and thus making their discussions on sexual matters boring and uninteresting. The study recommends the need for parents to adopt effective communication skills that could enable them pass their good sexual intentions to their adolescent children.
Keywords:Parental Influence, Sexual behaviors, Sexual problems, Adolescent, Sex related information, Parent.
Brown, sidney l. the impact of middle schools health on dropout rates schooli...William Kritsonis
Dr. Kritsonis has traveled and lectured extensively throughout the United States and world-wide. Some international travels include Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, Turkey, Italy, Greece, Monte Carlo, England, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Poland, Germany, Mexico, the Caribbean Islands, Mexico, Switzerland, Grand Cayman, Haiti, St. Maarten, St. John, St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. Lucia, Puerto Rico, Nassau, Freeport, Jamaica, Barbados, Martinique, Canada, Curacao, Costa Rico, Aruba, Venezuela, Panama, Bora Bora, Tahiti, Latvia, Spain, Honduras, and many more. He has been invited to lecture and serve as a guest professor at many universities across the nation and abroad.
Доклад с митапа MSK .NET Community (http://mskdotnet.org).
Поговорим о самом мощном отладчике для Windows – WinDbg. Разберем как начать использовать этот отладчик, чем он может быть полезен для .NET разработчиков. Подробней остановимся на практических моментах его применения, зачем он прикладным программистам, web-разработчикам. Посмотрим и на другие инструменты отладки, которые занимают нишу между интуитивно управляемым комбайном Visual Studio и легким, но крайне аскетичным WinDbg.
Dangerous Ideas in Development Presentation on Children and AIDSIDS
A presentation given in the UK Parliament by Jerker Edstrom as part of the Dangerous Ideas in Development series run by IDS and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Debt, AID and Trade
EFFECT OF CHILD ABUSE ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENT...ResearchWap
ABSTRACT
This project work focuses on the effects of child abuse on students’ academic performance. The study attempts to unravel the causes, effects and remedies to child abuse among secondary school students. It was carried out in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State. A sample of 100 was randomly drawn from selected secondary schools in the local government and questionnaires were administered to the respondents. The mean percentage test, which was adopted in the study’s analysis, indicated that excessive battering of a child by parents/teacher/guidance; broken homes, child hawking before and after school and an unconducive learning environment are all causes of child abuse. Also, it was found that child abuse negatively affects a child’s school performance; such abused children are vulnerable to early pregnancy. Ill-treatment as well causes permanent and lifelong trauma, thereby making children develop low cognition of school subjects. The preaching of good morals by religious leaders to parents and guardians is part of the recommendations made in this study. Also, melting out punishment in form of fines on erring parents/guidance especially those forcing their children to hawk, and prevention from bad peer influence will help eliminate or reduce to the barest minimum the incidence of child abuse among secondary school students.
Gender Based Violence in Schools: Problems, Challenges and MeasuresGarima Singh
Gender based violence is violence against any person on the basis of gender, including acts that inflict physical, mental or sexual harm or threats of such acts.
In Africa, the concept of Guidance and Counseling although relatively new in educational systems, has been embraced by most governments. Although most African countries recognize the essential role of organized Guidance and Counseling Programmes, there are limited researches studies conducted to assess the effectiveness of the programmed services being implemented to improve the student’s decision making processes that lead to improved future benefits. Research is yet to identify gender specific strategies to positive psychosexual development in boys and girls that can promote safe reproductive health. A wide spread ignorance on the subject of sex is due to the fact that the subject has been surrounded with mystery and beclouded by dark silence. The result has increased curiosity and desire to acquire more knowledge on this forbidden subject; yet, the people entrusted with the responsibility of educating the adolescents on the subject have not made appropriate information readily available. The study investigated effectiveness of guidance and counselling programmes on academic achievement among public secondary school students in Bungoma South Sub-County, Kenya. The study adopted Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory postulated in 1986. A descriptive research design was used with target population of 52 guiding and counselling teachers. A sample of 16 participants was selected using, using 30% of Mugenda and Mugenda (2003) and randomly selected from 52 schools. Data was collected using structured interview schedule and questionnaire and analyzed descriptively. Results highlights teacher counselling and peer counselling were the most effective strategies in guidance and counselling as compared to students suspension and corporal punishment. More than half of guidance and counselling teachers asserted that schools had inadequate policy and manual procedures and code of ethics and regulation governing sexual behaviour. This paper points at need of guidance and counselling departments to develop policies and manual procedures on sex and relationship education that acts as a reference point to all members of the school. In addition, the Government should set up reproductive health institutions for the youth, promote peer counseling, talks by health providers in schools which has a bearing on students’ performance.
The purpose of this study was to determine how parenting contributes to deviancy in school among students at Bokamoso Junior Secondary School. The study was a descriptive survey in which a questionnaire was administered to Form 2 and Form 3 students of Bokamoso Secondary School to collect data. The results were then presented using mean and standard deviation. The results showed that majority of students were male around the age of 16-20 years. The results further revealed that parental involvement has a significant influence on students being deviant, which was given by an average mean of 2.55 which is above the criterion mean of 2.50 and average standard deviation of 0.572. It was concluded that parenting is factor associated with a deviancy amongst students at Bokamoso Secondary School. It was therefore recommended that they should be a joint disciplinary council consisting of parents or guardian, teachers and school management which usually recommends on how to deal or act on certain offences depending on the gravity of offences.
Attitudes of Christianreligious Education (CRE) Teachers and Students towards...inventionjournals
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to establish challenges in the teaching and learning of Christian Religious Education (CRE) that affect its provision and integration of effective HIV/AIDS education in secondary schools in Bungoma County, Kenya. The objective of the study was to establish the attitudes of CRE teachers and students towards the role of the subject in provision of HIV/AIDS education to learners in Kenya.Stratified random sampling was used to select the 62 secondary schools that were used in the study while simple random sampling was used to select 102 teachers and 462 students who participated in the study. The study was guided by concepts and theories on factors affecting curriculum development and innovation by curriculum developers such as Farrant, Bishop, Gross and others. The research instruments for this study werequestionnaires.Data from questionnaires was quantitativelyanalysed using descriptive statistics.The study established that both the CRE teachers and students had positive attitudes towards the role of the CRE in the provision of HIV/AIDS education. The study concluded that though most of the CRE teachers and students had a positive attitude towards the role of the subject in providing HIV/AIDS education, many felt what the subject was offering on HIV/AIDS was not adequate. Consequently, the study recommended that the ministry of Education should organize for in-service training or seminars for CRE teachers and students in secondary schools on the importance of the subject in providing HIV/AIDS education so that they continue to have a positive attitude towards the subject providing HIV/AIDS education.
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3. 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 3
I. Why is SRGBV a Priority? 4
A) Definition and Manifestations of SRGBV 4
B) Prevalence and Drivers of SRGBV 5
C) Consequences of SRGBV 7
D) Gaps in Knowledge of SRGBV 8
II. Key Policy and Programme Responses to SRGBV 9
A) Global and Regional Initiatives 9
B) National and Sub-National Responses 10
C) Effective Policy and Programme Interventions: Lessons Learned 12
III. The Way Forward: What Needs to be Done 14
References 16
4. 3
Introduction
Gender-based violence (GBV) knows no boundaries. This global phenomenon does
not discriminate on the basis of geography, culture, ethnicity, or economy, and is
often tolerated and sustained by the very social institutions – such as schools –
where children are expected to be safe and protected.
GBV is a brutal violation of human rights. It is one of the worst manifestations of
gender discrimination and a major obstacle to achieving gender equality.1
Violence that occurs in and around schools (also known as school-related gender-based
violence or SRGBV) continues to be a serious barrier in realizing the right to
education. Girls are most at risk of GBV in and around schools, but boys may also be
targeted. The experience, or even the threat, of SRGBV often results in poor
performance, irregular attendance, dropout, truancy and low self-esteem. Violence
can also have serious health and psychological implications that can have long-lasting
effects.
It is important to understand the particular implications of GBV in and around
schools and how educational institutions can and should be an important force for
protection and change. However, the evidence base for the global scale and nature
of SRGBV is limited, and there is little collective intelligence to date on best practices
in either preventing it or responding to it.
Drawing primarily from Leach, Dunne and Salvi’s 2013 global literature review,2 as
well as from selected literature from francophone African countries, this paper aims
to articulate the issues, causes, challenges and opportunities in policy and
programming, with a specific focus on school-related violence against girls.
1 Leach, Fiona, Máiréad Dunne and Francesca Salvi, A global review of current issues and approaches
in policy, programming and implementation responses to School Related Gender-Based Violence
(SRGBV) for UNESCO Education Sector, University of Sussex, 2013.
2 Ibid.
5. 4
I. Why is SRGBV a Priority?
A) Definition and Manifestations of SRGBV
SRGBV occurs all over the world, but manifests itself differently in various cultural
and geographical contexts (see Box 1). Although its manifestations may vary, all
instances relate to, "acts of sexual, physical or psychological violence inflicted on
children in and around schools because of stereotypes and roles or norms attributed
to or expected of them because of their sex or gendered identity. It also refers to the
differences between girls’ and boys’ experience of and vulnerabilities to violence."3
In recent years, sexual violence by boys or men (teachers and learners) against girls
has received increased attention as a major concern.4 Emerging research is also
highlighting the more complex nature of violence in schools and has shifted the usual
authority/age hierarchy to address violence by students (usually male) against
teachers (usually young and female), as well as female teachers perpetrating
violence against male students. Corporal punishment and bullying are included as
forms of SRGBV. Increasingly recognized issues are homophobic bullying, bullying
based on real or perceived sexual orientation and gender-identity, cyber bullying and
the fear of violence itself.5
Incidences of SRGBV can occur in the classroom, in teacher residences, toilets,
dormitories, and the roads and areas near schools, among others. This type of
violence is made up of a variety of actions that include, but are not limited to6:
i) Bullying, including verbal and/or physical harassment;
ii) Sexual harassment, also referred to as ‘teasing’ or insinuation;
iii) Sexual acts in exchange for good grades or for the paying of school fees;
iv) Non-consensual touching or sexual assault;
v) Seduction or sexual harassment of learners by a teacher; and
vi) Tolerance (or encouragement) of male dominance or aggression within
the school environment.
3 Greene, Margaret, et al., A girl’s right to learn without fear: Working to end gender-based violence at
school, Plan International, 2013.
4 Devers, Marie, et al., Les violences de genre en milieu scolaire en Afrique subsaharienne
francophone: Comprendre leurs impacts sur la scolarisation des filles pour mieux les combattre,
République Française: Ministère des Affaires Etrangères et Européens, 2012.
5 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Booklet 8: Education Sector
Responses to Homophobic Bullying. Good Policy and Practice in HIV & Health Education, UNESCO,
2012.
6 UNICEF West and Central Africa Regional Office, Abus, exploitation et violence sexuels à l’encontre
des enfants à l’école en Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre, 2006, p. 3.
6. 5
Box 1: Manifestations of SRGBV by Region7
In sub-Saharan Africa, the problem of SRGBV has received more public and scholarly
attention because of high HIV prevalence rates, including among school-aged girls.
School-based violence is commonly manifested through student and teacher sexual
assault against girls, sexual harassment, and rape.
In Asia, an authoritarian and hierarchical model of teaching and social relations
predominates, and both social and educational realms are highly influenced by
differences in caste, ethnicity and religion. Particular manifestations of SRGBV in the
region have included cases of acid being thrown on girls going to and from school, in
addition to rape and sexual abuse.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, a culture that sanctions violence within the
family and community contributes to school-based violence, as does the prevalence
of youth gangs. Incidences of teacher-student rape, bullying, and harassment of girls
by boys at school have been observed.
In the Middle East, psychological and physical violence were the most highly
reported types of SRGBV.
In the United States and Western Europe, bullying and dating violence, cyber-bullying,
homophobic violence, and school shootings have been reported as
common.
B) Prevalence and Drivers of SRGBV
Prevalence
Gender based violence (GBV) is deeply rooted in many societies, and is often
sanctioned through cultural practices and norms, or through misinterpretation of
religious tenets.
The 2006 United Nations Study on Violence against Children notes that schools have
an important role to play in protecting children from violence. Sadly, however, it is in
educational settings that many children are exposed to sexual violence based on
their gender.
SRGBV is not only widespread, but remains grossly under-researched and under-reported.
The fragmented and inadequate efforts that have been undertaken to
study it so far have resulted in limited national prevalence data.
7 United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative, Engendering Empowerment: Education & Equality, UNGEI,
2012, p. 54.
7. Most research has taken place in sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on sexual violence
against girls, partly driven by concerns over exposure to HIV. A UNICEF study
conducted in Botswana in 2000 demonstrated that, of 560 students, 70 per cent had
experienced sexual harassment. 8 In addition, 20 per cent of respondents had been
asked for sex by a teacher. A 2010 survey by the Ministry of National Education of
Côte d’Ivoire found that approximately 50 per cent of teachers reported having
sexual relations with students, with figures as high as 70 per cent in one region.9 A
2011 ActionAid/Institute of Education study of 1,082 girls in Ghana, Kenya and
Mozambique reported that sexual relationships between students and teachers
were mentioned regularly in focus group discussions, although only in Kenya did girls
report being forced to have sex with a teacher (5 per cent of girls).10
Although there are fewer in number, studies on SRGBV have also taken place in
other regions: A 2011 Save the Children study in Yemen revealed that 31 per cent of
schoolchildren were exposed to sexual abuse.11 A similar 2008 study in Lebanon
revealed that 16 per cent of schoolchildren reported sexual abuse, with the majority
being girls.12 In Peru, 169 teachers were reported for rape or other inappropriate
behaviour in 2007 alone.13
Drivers
The predominance of violence against girls in school reflects deeply entrenched
social and cultural norms that reinforce gender inequality and an imbalance of
power – between males and females and between adults and children. Prevailing
gender norms may legitimize violent behaviours toward girls, thereby rendering
these acts invisible and reinforcing gender identities that subordinate girls. Boys
may also be targets if they do not conform to prevailing norms of masculinity.
SRGBV is more prevalent in times of social and political upheaval, crisis and conflict.
In periods of conflict, schools may become ideological battlegrounds, placing girls at
increased risk of sexual violence from parties to the conflict.14
Social structures and institutions, including families, schools and communities,
support these norms. Schools, in their role of guiding the ‘socialization’ of children,
may implicitly legitimize and reinforce harmful gender norms through tacit or explicit
approval of the status quo. Educational institutions, as respected centres in a
community, can unwittingly feed a wider enabling environment in which GBV
flourishes.
6
8 Leach et al., p. 12.
9 Ministry of National Education of Cote d’Ivoire, Survey of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of
Students and Teachers on STIs, HIV/AIDS, and Pregnancy and a Situation Analysis of Orphans and
other Children made Vulnerable by HIV/AIDS in Abidjan-1, Aboisso, Man and Korhogo, 2010, p. 26.
10 Leach et al, p. 12.
11 Ibid, p. 15.
12 Ibid.
13 El Comercio, 13 December 2007, p. 4 (cited by Leach et al.)
14 Devers et al., p. 10-13.
8. The absence of mechanisms that function to keep harmful gender norms and
practices in check allows for the continuation of SRGBV. Systems for identifying and
reporting SRGBV, for example, are under-resourced and under-developed. In
addition, the rights of children are not well understood and are rarely part of the
school curriculum. At the same time, judicial systems tend to be poorly equipped to
address crimes against children and issues of sexual misconduct.
Even when children are aware of their rights and where reporting systems do exist,
victims of violence may not feel like they are safe or protected to be able to report
their experiences of violence. Social service, medical and other support systems for
victims are few and tend to be poorly resourced. To address the strong social factors
that work to maintain the practice of SRGBV, a more comprehensive, multi-sectoral
and multi-actor response is necessary.
C) Consequences of SRGBV
There are significant consequences to SRGBV, with some of the clearest relating to
physical and psychological health, and academic achievement. The physical health
consequences of forced sex include exposure to sexually transmitted diseases as well
as unwanted conception, high-risk adolescent pregnancy and childbirth, and unsafe
abortions. Psychologically, the experience of sexual violence has the tendency to
block the development of social skills and undermine self-esteem, and may lead to
eating disorders, depression, insomnia, feelings of guilt, anxiety and suicidal
tendencies.15 Exposing students to violence within the school environment can also
lead to further violence that they may perpetrate or receive.16
Victims of sexual violence also suffer academically: girls may demonstrate poor
performance, reduce their engagement in school activities, or drop out entirely due
to low self-esteem, reduced concentration, and anxiety. When teachers demand sex
from female students and ‘reward’ them for sex with high grades in tests and exams,
the idea is perpetuated that academic success is tied to girls’ sexuality rather than
their intellect.
Such notions deeply impact girls’ perception of themselves as students, and cast
academic pursuits in an improperly sexualized light. Also, because of school dropouts
relating to SRGBV, girls (who are disproportionally affected by SRGBV) suffer from
significantly lowered earning potential, not to mention all the other development
outcomes related to girls’ education.17
When gender-based violence is tolerated and condoned at school, there are broader
societal consequences on gender equality. Victims feel less able to take action, and
perpetrators may feel immune. These feelings and harmful behaviours go beyond
the school setting and contribute to the perpetuation of inequality and GBV more
widely in society. By the same token, schools have the opportunity to challenge
7
15 Ibid, p. 25.
16 Ibid.
17 Leach et al., p. 20-23.
9. norms, to create new rules, and to help individuals learn new, more equitable
behaviours that will be of benefit in school and in society at large.
D) Gaps in Knowledge of SRGBV
Despite knowledge of the consequences of SRGBV, the issue remains under-researched
and under-reported, with most studies coming out of sub-Saharan Africa
and, to a lesser extent, North America and northern Europe. A number of remaining
gaps in knowledge of SRGBV are outlined in the Leach et al. review, which point to
the need for further investigation to better understand and design interventions to
address this problem.
8
Some of the gaps include:18
i) Research on non-heterosexual forms of violence: There is, as yet, little
research on SRGBV that goes beyond examining heterosexual forms of
violence, perpetrated mostly by male teachers and students on female
students;
ii) Knowledge of student-on-teacher violence: The fact that teachers,
especially young female teachers, are also exposed to sexual violence,
either by other staff or by older (usually male) students, has been
largely ignored;
iii) Link between SRGBV and other forms of violence: The continued
resistance to eliminate corporal punishment in schools and families is
closely linked to the social acceptance of other forms of GBV, such as
domestic violence and child sexual abuse, and to the culture of male
domination that prevails in many school settings. This has important
implications for effective intervention and, in the long term, for the
achievement of global development goals;19
iv) Separation of SRGBV and bullying: A lack of awareness of the gender
dimensions of bullying and the tendency to treat it as a phenomenon
separate from GBV is not helpful in either understanding the scale of
the problem or how best to address it;
v) Understanding of teachers’ perceptions: Little research has been
carried out regarding teachers’ perceptions of GBV and how they deal
with it in the school environment. We need to know more about the
factors that can influence teachers’ attitudes and behaviour regarding
the institutional violence they witness, and often take part in, on a daily
basis;
vi) Education, access and achievement: Although we recognize that SRGBV
constitutes a major barrier to educational access and participation, as
well as to the achievement of quality and equality, we know little about
18 Ibid., p. 21-24.
19 See ‘Prohibiting and eliminating corporal punishment of children – a key element of state
responsibility for eliminating violence against women and girls’, submission to the Special Rapporteur
on Violence against Women, Global Initiative to End all Corporal Punishment of Children, October
2012.
10. how this violence impacts retention and achievement. The link is still
tenuous; and
vii) Links between SRGBV and other social arenas: The links between
SRGBV and other social arenas are under-developed. Gender
differences are often treated as ‘natural’, and used as a default
explanation of gendered outcomes. Not only is this self-fulfilling, but it
also works to remove the perception of SRGBV as a problem and
insulate it from insights into social behaviour that can be drawn from
studies in other fields, such as organizational and professional practice
or analyses of the intersection between gender, sexual and other
identities (race, class, religion, etc.).
II. Key Policy and Programme Responses to SRGBV
A range of actors at the global, regional, and national levels have utilized both policy
and programming responses to address SRGBV.
A) Global and Regional Initiatives
The Convention on the Rights of the Child provides the most definitive global
statement on the issue of violence, and requires States Parties to protect children
from all forms of violence, to prevent and respond to violence, and to provide
support to children who are victims of violence (article 19). The Optional Protocols to
the Convention, as well as several other human rights instruments, include specific
protections against violence. These actions represent immediate obligations under
international law for all signatory member states. Governments have also committed
to protecting children from all forms of violence at global conferences such as the
United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children in 2002.
In the wake of the 2006 United Nations Study on Violence against Children, global
and regional initiatives to address violence against children have accelerated, serving
to create enabling frameworks. These commitments have contributed to creating
moral pressure for action at the country level, pressure for governments to take
ownership of solutions to SRGBV, and pressure to establish norms. Examples include
the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children, a high-profile global
campaign to address violence in schools, and the United Nations Office of the Special
Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children (SRSG). The
SRSG collaborates with national governments to establish or improve government
regulations that address violence against children. However, both these global
initiatives have a broad focus, and lack a gendered analysis of violence within
schools. As a result, these efforts are less likely to bring about long-term change.
Regional initiatives include the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the
Child, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the
Rights of Women in Africa, specifically Article 12, and the South Asia Initiative to End
Violence Against Children. The focus and purpose of these intergovernmental
9
11. projects involves providing guidance to national and local governmental initiatives
addressing violence against children. However, most of these initiatives focus on
violence generally, but do not address SRGBV specifically.
10
Box 2: International Instruments/Resolutions and Commitments
Major international frameworks, such as the United Nations Declaration of Human
Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against
Women (CEDAW), and the Fourth World Conference on Women (also known as the
Beijing Platform for Action), denounce violence and call for measures to protect all
human beings, especially women and girls, from all forms of violence.
Article 19 of the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child calls on States Parties to
take all appropriate measures, including through education, to protect children from
all forms of violence, including sexual abuse.
A 2007 United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/61/143 entitled
‘Intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women’ calls upon
the international community, including the United Nations system, to enhance
national efforts to eliminate violence against women and girls, including through ‘the
sharing of guidelines, methodologies and best practices’.
Article 12 of the 2003 Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
on the Rights of Women in Africa calls on State Parties to take all appropriate
measures to protect women, especially the girl-child, from all forms of abuse,
including sexual harassment in schools and other educational institutions and
provide for sanctions against the perpetrators of such practices.
B) National and Sub-National Responses
National policy initiatives commonly take the form of laws, regulations, policies, and
strategies enacted by parliaments or established by ministries of education, at times
in conjunction with other ministries. These may be initiated by the government, or
developed in response to civil society demands. A common policy strategy at the
national level is the revision and enforcement of teacher codes of conduct, detailing
“the set of recognized ethical norms and professional standards of conduct to which
all members of a profession must adhere.”20 This focuses on explicit regulations
relating to teacher conduct and may include specific reference to, and sanctions for,
sexual violence.
Another example of a national-level policy response is a parliamentary bill. Between
2008 and 2011 in Kenya, for example, ActionAid collaborated with the Teachers’
20 Poisson, Muriel, Guidelines for the design and effective use of teacher codes of conduct, UNESCO,
2009, p. 13.
12. Service Commission, the Ministry of Education, the Kenya National Union of
Teachers and the Children’s Department in pushing for the drafting of a
parliamentary bill to reinforce mechanisms for reporting violence and ensure
teachers are discharged rather than transferred to other schools.21 The bill will also
seek to eliminate potential collusion by clearly stating that failure to report an
offender is in itself an offence. A centralized database has been established to track
teachers who commit sexual offences.
In terms of programmatic responses, SRGBV interventions are usually directed
towards:
i) Preventing violence by challenging the gendered attitudes and
behaviours that foster it, including through the implementation of
standards or rules, and/or explicitly promoting tolerance and equality
often through alternative non-violent practices;
ii) Establishing mechanisms that prevent violence before it happens;
iii) Providing adequate levels of support where violence does occur;
iv) Working in partnership with relevant actors and stakeholders to obtain
11
the best outcome for victims and their families; and
v) Ensuring that perpetrators are brought to justice.
Non-governmental organizations such as ActionAid, Concern, Plan International, and
Oxfam, and a small group of multilateral and bilateral organizations including UNICEF
and USAID, lead on SRGBV programming globally. A range of SRGBV responses has
been employed, varying by approach, scope, targeted beneficiaries and level – albeit
in a limited number of countries.
While most programmes focus on a single aspect of violence in schools (such as
bullying), others address forms of school violence as interlinked, including sexual,
physical, and psychological violence, as well as corporal punishment and bullying. In
addition, while some programmes focus specifically on girls, others take a more
inclusive approach and include boys. The ‘girls only’ approach sees school violence as
being perpetrated mostly against girls,22 and works to strengthen girls’
empowerment both at school and in the community.
SRGBV programming also differs according to scope or focus. Single input
interventions, for example, include stand-alone courses on sexual harassment or life
skills classes on reproductive health. On the other hand, the multiple-input approach
incorporates different parts of the educational system and diverse stakeholders.23
This can be a coordinated intervention at the school, community, policy, and legal
level. One example of the multiple-input approach was USAID’s Safe Schools project,
which combined student and community discussions with a community counselor
programme.
21 Leach et al., p. 41.
22 Ibid., p. 31.
23 Ibid., p. 32.
13. Programming targeted toward communities in the form of awareness-raising is also
common. ActionAid used campaign activities and designated days focused on
SRGBV, where local leaders and government officials participated. Also at the
community level, ‘Mother’s Clubs’ have been formed in some countries in Africa to
mobilize community and leadership support for girls’ education, to monitor girls’
attendance at school, and to raise awareness about SRGBV, reproductive health, and
available services, such as psychosocial support and reporting mechanisms.24
Mother’s Clubs also implement income-generating activities, such as the sale of
handicrafts, to provide scholarships and other financial support to girls who would
otherwise not be able to go to school.
Finally, some programmes to address SRGBV have been designed with a specific
focus on violence, or with the ‘whole school’ approach that integrates violence into a
broad programme of educational support. These could include gender training for
teachers, curriculum revision, and economic strengthening projects aimed at
reducing girls’ financial vulnerability.25 With the former, it can be easier to measure
impact, while the ‘whole school’ approach is seen as bringing about more lasting
change. ActionAid’s Transforming Education for Girls in Nigeria and Tanzania project
adopted the ‘whole school’ approach, while their Stop Violence Against Girls
programme adopted the ‘violence only’ approach.26
C) Effective Policy and Programme Interventions: Lessons Learned
While a host of policy and programme responses to SRGBV have been implemented,
they have often been weak, have not used gender-sensitive indicators or are not
based on systematic gender analysis. Most have not been rigorously monitored or
evaluated, and evaluations have been of poor quality. However, a review of national-level
policy interventions identified some promising outcomes in preventing and
12
addressing SRGBV.27
When governments take action on SRGBV, this has been found to encourage
engagement on the issue among communities. For example, in the Democratic
Republic of Congo, strong backing from the Governor of Katanga Province and the
regional Ministry of Education for USAID’s C-Change project encouraged
participation at the community level.28 The review also found that NGO mapping and
monitoring of existing policy frameworks relating to SRGBV helped support
coordination and communication between different government bodies and across
sectors.
ActionAid Mozambique published a detailed analysis of laws and policies regarding
24 United Nations Children’s Fund, L’éducation comme vecteur de protection et de promotion de la
santé des filles affectées par le conflit en Côte d’Ivoire, UNICEF, 2011, p. 12.
25 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Booklet 7: Gender Equality, HIV
and Education. Good Policy and Practice in HIV & Health Education, UNESCO, 2012, pp. 30-45.
26 UNICEF, L’éducation comme vecteur de protection et de promotion de la santé des filles affectées
par le conflit en Côte d’Ivoire, UNICEF, 2011, p. 33.
27 Ibid., p 41.
28 Ibid
14. girls’ education and protection, which influenced the government’s revision to the
penal code, including proposals on early marriage and the right of rapists to marry
their victims as an alternative to a prison sentence.29
Promising programme approaches have also been identified in a recent evaluation
by Parkes et al., which assessed the implementation of the Stop Violence against
Girls project coordinated by ActionAid in Ghana, Mozambique and Kenya.30 The
evaluation found that: “an intervention that combined girls’ clubs with forms of
community dialogue and in-service training for teachers, School Management
Committees, and others, led to changes in attitudes to gender and violence, and
knowledge about how and where to report.”
However, an open environment that encouraged discussion and sharing was
required for girls to feel comfortable reporting the violence they experienced. Child
Helplines and referral services have also been used as a critical first contact between
child victims and protection services in national-level initiatives, such as UNICEF’s
programme in Côte d’Ivoire.31
Evidence from the Leach et al. review also documents success in reducing violence.
For instance, school codes of conduct for teachers and students, where students and
teachers have a part in developing and enforcing school rules, have been shown to
reduce levels of violence by increasing students’ knowledge of their rights.32 The
teacher code of conduct is an example of how a popular policy tool could be
implemented to address SRGBV at the programme level. However, even where
codes of conduct do address SRGBV, enforcement has usually been extremely weak.
Unfortunately, even when girls feel confident to report abuse, and reporting
mechanisms are in place, SRGBV claims often do not reach resolution. Often,
perpetrators are neither punished under criminal law nor sanctioned for professional
misconduct by the Ministry of Education or the teachers’ union. This stems from a
number of factors, some of which include:
i) Families and communities may suppress girls’ reports out of shame,
preferring to make informal arrangements such as demanding gifts
from the accused teachers to compensate;
ii) Victims and their families have limited trust in reporting mechanisms if
13
they are managed by community leaders and teachers;
iii) Judicial systems ignore complaints or provide insufficient penalties; and
iv) Ministries of education fail to apply sanctions, preferring to remove
accused teachers from schools and relocate them.
29 Ibid
30 Unterhalter, Elaine, et al., Interventions to enhance girls’ education and gender equality: a rigorous
review of literature, UK Department for International Development, (forthcoming) October 2013.
31 UNICEF, L’éducation comme vecteur de protection et de promotion de la santé des filles affectées
par le conflit en Côte d’Ivoire, 2011.
32 Leach et al., p 37.
15. The Leach et al. review also highlighted the impact of projects in improving
enrolment, retention and achievement, especially of girls. Some respondents
attributed these results in part to the child-friendly environment created by the
intervention: some children reported that they felt safer going to school and
therefore attended more regularly. However, there is the danger of assuming a
cause-and-effect relationship when it does not exist, as other factors – such as
increased government funding, school feeding programmes, free uniforms, or simple
demographics – may have also played a part.
Overall, researchers and practitioners stress the urgent need for existing, small-scale
SRGBV studies to be complemented and extended by statistical data from large
comparative surveys and multi-country studies. Continued research on SRGBV will
help establish a strong evidence base on successful interventions, which will in turn
promote more effective programme design.
III. The Way Forward: What Needs to be Done
The lack of coordination in efforts by governments, ministries and agencies to tackle
school violence and the need for joint action on SRGBV policy and programming is
highlighted in a number of reports.33
A 2013 Overseas Development Institute report, commissioned by Plan International,
identifies specific gaps in terms of: the limited evidence base; the lack of coordinated
design, implementation and monitoring of policies and programmes; the lack of a
multi-stakeholder approach; and the lack of recognition of the inter-linked nature of
manifestations of school violence.
Inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations, humanitarian
programming, governments, schools, and other social and civil society institutions
should address these gaps. The United Nations system has a particularly important
role to play because of its connection to Member States and links to international
conventions. These actors must employ a coordinated approach at all levels and
among all stakeholders in order to set a forward-looking agenda to tackle the issue
speedily and effectively.
Based on existing research findings and experience, the following principles (Table 1)
recommend conditions and approaches that contribute to sound and effective
responses to SRGBV:34
33 Leach et al., p. 29.
34 Greene et al. op.cit,. The principles also draw on a Save the Children Sweden (2010) report, Too Often
in Silence: Addressing violence in schools, selected initiatives from West and Central Africa, with Plan,
Actionaid and UNICEF, and on the Concept Note prepared for the UN-Women Expert Group Meeting:
Prevention of violence against women and girls, Bangkok, Thailand, 17-20 September, 2012.
14
16. 15
Table 1: Ten Principles for Effective Responses to SRGBV
Clear conceptualization
A clear articulation of the problem to underpin policy
and action.
Comprehensive and integrated
action
Action plans that offer a holistic long-term strategy
that build national child protection systems within a
supportive policy environment. The action plan is
complemented by community engagement to bring
about a fundamental change in attitude and behaviour
towards GBV at the community level.
Policies underpinned by robust,
research-based evidence
National data collection that is centralized and
adequately resourced for recording, reporting and
monitoring violence in and around schools.
Effective legislation and
regulation
Institutional capacity to implement policies to address
SRGBV and enforce laws designed to bring
perpetrators of violence to justice using standardized
procedures for the police and judiciary and built-in
monitoring mechanisms.
Inter-sectoral coordination and
collaboration
Harmonization of policies and legislation and the
coordination of responses across sectors and levels of
government.
Safe and effective reporting and
response
Local reporting and response mechanisms that are
safe, effective and consistent with the Convention on
the Rights of the Child.
Well-supported and well-trained
personnel
Strengthened pre- and in-service teacher education
programmes and school-based support for teachers
and managers, including the appointment of
‘focal/focus’ teachers as a first port of call for children
who have experienced violence.
Transparency and accountability
Dissemination of reliable and up-to-date information
about relevant policies and legislation through media
channels suited to diverse locations and circumstances;
awareness-raising among communities that is
appropriately targeted and provides relevant
information on complaints procedures.
Participation and inclusiveness
Inclusive approaches to working with communities that
ensure that the concerns and experiences of diverse
groups, including minorities, people with disabilities
and people with low income, are not ignored.
Gender transformative teaching
and learning mechanisms
Education content, including curricula, textbooks,
pedagogy and classroom practices that are gender-sensitive
and contribute to gender equitable attitudes
and non-violence.
17. References
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subsaharienne francophone: Comprendre leurs impacts sur la scolarisation des filles
pour mieux les combattre, République Française: Ministère des Affaires Etrangères et
Européens, 2012.
Greene, Margaret, et al., A girl’s right to learn without fear: Working to end gender-based
16
violence at school, Plan International, 2013.
Leach, Fiona, Máiréad Dunne and Francesca Salvi, A global review of current issues
and approaches in policy, programming and implementation responses to School
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Aboisso, Man and Korhogo, 2010.
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