violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

154Violence against children in schools and educational settingssive, and effective learning environmentsfor girls and boys. Promoting non-violencein and beyond the school should be a cleargoal with policies and well-publicised proceduresfor enforcement.2. Prohibit violence in schools. Governmentshave the obligation to explicitly prohibitviolence against children by law, andto ensure the implementation of relatedpolicies and procedures at the school level– specifically putting a stop to corporalpunishment and other humiliating ordegrading treatment, bullying and othersexual and gender-based violence.3. Prevent violence in schools with specificprogrammes which address thewhole school environment. Governmentsshould implement violence prevention programmescomprehensively across the educationsetting for all staff and students,while being sensitive to the special needs ofvulnerable children.4. Prioritise attention to gender issues andtheir links with violence. Governmentsmust acknowledge the pervasive impactof entrenched gender stereotypes on thenature of violence in and around schools.Male students, staff and community members,must be actively encouraged as strategicpartners and allies; and along withfemale students, staff and communitymembers, must be provided with opportunitiesto increase their understanding ofhow to stop gender discrimination and itsviolent manifestations.5. Give special attention to vulnerablegroups. Governments must implementspecific strategies to ensure that the specialneeds of vulnerable children are addressed,and that discrimination in particular isstopped. Staff must understand and be ableto systematically respond to the situationand particular risks experienced by minoritygroups, children with disabilities, childrenwithout parental care or affected byHIV, or children reintegrating into schoolcommunities such as refugee and displacedchildren, or former child soldiers.6. Provide safe physical spaces. Governmentsshould ensure that safe physicalspaces are provided to ensure that both girlsand boys have equal access to facilities andcan participate fully in school life. Schoolsmust have adequate toilet facilities for girlsand boys. All facilities must be clean andsafe, accessible by girls and boys, and free ofnegative interference from the community.Build capacity7. Establish and implement codes of conductreflecting child rights principles.Clear codes of conduct reflecting childrights principles, which are harmonisedwith the law, should be established and promotedwidely for all staff, students and theirfamilies and communities. It is the Government’sresponsibility to put in place mechanismsand protocols to ensure that schoolshave trained and trusted adults, within orindependent of the school, to whom studentscan safely and confidentially reportincidents of violence and receive advice.