violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

“Violence against children has incalculable costs to present and future generations and it undermineshuman development. We recognize that virtually all forms of violence are linked to entrenched genderroles and inequalities, and that the violation of the rights of children is linked to the status of women.”The African Declaration on Violence against Girls, 2006 V4the widespread practice of blaming girls whoare victims of rape, and that where gender discriminationis an unquestioned norm, blaminggirls may extend to almost any kind of sexualharassment, assault or exploitation.Studies suggest that sexual harassment ofschoolgirls is common throughout the world,to varying degrees by teachers themselves aswell as by students, and that it may be particularlycommon and extreme in places whereother forms of school violence are also prevalent.41,42,43,44,45 Teachers often see the sexualharassment among students – most often girls– as a normal part of school life, and thereforeignore it. Under these circumstancesit is difficult for students to report it. In theMiddle East, sexual harassment of girls is notcommonly reported, perhaps because girls arecommonly separated from boys in schools,or also perhaps because girls are reluctant tospeak out.Until recently, there was almost no public discussionof sexual abuse of schoolgirls in Japanand victims rarely came forward. Their shamewas profound and they knew that if theytalked about what had happened, their reputationswould have been tainted for the rest oftheir lives. 46 Similar attitudes are still commonin many countries. A study in Ethiopia, forexample, found that students attributed thesexual harassment of girls to the way the girlsdressed and not to boys’ attitudes towardgirls. 47 In West and Central Africa, teachersjustified sexual exploitation of female studentsby saying that their clothes and behaviourwere provocative, and that the teachers werefar from home and in sexual need. 48In Europe and North America, revelation ofthe widespread sexual abuse of boys by maleteachers (often clerics) in church-run schoolshas only occurred since the 1990s in the presenceof better protections against, and systemsof, reporting abuse – often decades after theabuse took place. Previously, children whowere sexually assaulted or exploited by teacherswere too ashamed to tell anyone what hadhappened, knowing that their stories would notbe believed or that, if believed, they would beblamed for attracting the sexual attention ofother males. A recent study found that nearly4,400 priests (4% of all priests ministeringduring that period) had been accused of sexuallyabusing nearly 10,700 children, in acts thattook place between 1950 and 2002, and thatthe vast majority of the children were boys. 49Harmful cultural stereotypes that demeanchildren because of their sex or their knownor suspected sexuality create environments inwhich children can be abused with impunity,including by adults in positions of trust andauthority such as clerics in religious schools.In 2004, Pakistan’s Minister of State for ReligiousAffairs stunned the nation by reportingthat, so far that year, 500 complaints of sexualabuse by clerics in religious schools had beenregistered and that, in the previous year, 2,000complaints had been registered, although there50, 51had been no successful prosecutions so far.119Violence against children in schools and educational settings