violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

112Violence against children in schools and educational settingsSchools are uniquely placed to break the patternsof violence by giving children, theirparents and communities the knowledge andskills to communicate, negotiate and resolveconflicts in more constructive ways. However,patterns of violence are often entrenched inschool culture, sometimes as a matter of policysupported and promoted by certain theoriesabout childhood development and learning.Whether perpetrated by adults or children,almost all violence in schools reflects a ‘hiddencurriculum’ that promotes gender inequalityand stereotyping. For example, boys taunteach other about their lack of masculinity andharass girls with verbal and physical gesturesthat are sexual in nature. Corporal punishmentof boys is more frequent and harsh thancorporal punishment of girls. Sexual aggressionby male teachers and boys is often dismissedas ‘just boys being boys’, while girls areblamed for ‘asking for it’. The implicit messagesare that males should be tough, generallyand sexually assertive and ready for life in arough-and-tumble world but females shouldbe passive, sheltered, and unassertive, particularlysexually. These stereotypes often makeschools unsafe and uncomfortable for girlsand are prominent among the reasons why, insome countries girls, particularly during adolescence,are less likely to attend school thanadolescent boys. 7,8,9Ensuring access to quality education for allchildren is integral to the Millenium DevelopmentGoals, and the related efforts detailed inthe Dakar Framework for Action. 10,11,12 To dothis, schools must provide a safe and welcomingenvironment for girls and boys, which isfree of the threat of violence (see box).Education for All and the Millennium Development GoalsIn April 2000, the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal, adopted the DakarFramework for Action to achieve six Education for All (EFA) goals. 13,14,15 In September2000, the Millennium Declaration established two of the EFA goals as being two ofthe eight Millennium Development Goals. Goal 2 states that, by 2015, all childrenshould have access to free and compulsory primary education of good quality. Goal 3 isto, by 2005, achieve gender equality in primary and secondary education and, by 2015,achieve gender equality in all levels of education. These two goals constitute a specifictimetable for achieving “the right of the child to education … progressively and on thebasis of equal opportunity” required by the CRC.