violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

“As my father could not go to pick up my sister from school one day, she had to come home alone.On the way home four boys touched her but she could not talk to her father about that.But she told me, and even I could not tell father.”Boy, South Asia, 2005 VIIIThe EFA campaign has shone a spotlighton the fact that girls still have less access toschooling than boys in most developing countries,that the discrepancy increases sharplyafter the primary grades, and that there is astrong correlation between low levels of educationfor girls and women and low levels ofnational development. 158,159136Violence against children in schools and educational settingsIn some societies with low levels of girls’ education,the seclusion of girls at home after pubertyis still common, and the same is true of earlymarriage, for example, in many parts of SouthAsia and the Middle East. Even where seclusionis not practised, research shows that parentsfear for their girls’ sexual safety in school.In sub-Saharan Africa, this fear is exacerbatedby fear of HIV infection. In 2001, a HumanRights Watch study on gender-based violencein schools found alarming levels of sexual violenceagainst schoolgirls, and a frighteningdegree of tolerance and collusion by teachers. 160Such evidence all too often results in pressureon girls to leave school. 161Responses to violenceagainst childrenin schools andeducational settingsIn the many children’s forums, Regional Consultationsand submissions that contributedto this Study, clear messages came from theworld’s children:• They want the violence to stop.• They want teachers and other schoolstaff to give them firm guidance whileUNICEF/HQ04-0611. Giacomo PirozziAZERBAIJAN, 2004, Two children from an ‘ internat’(boarding school) in the town of Sheki.accepting them for whom they are,respecting their rights and helping themto express themselves constructively andto develop their full potential.• They want teachers and other schoolstaff to help them get along with eachother and to develop the habits ofmutual respect and empathy that willsee them through lives of constructivecitizenship.