Adolescence

elusive. The gender gap is widest in sub-Saharan Africa andSouth Asia. 38The global economy’s increasing emphasis on knowledgebasedskills means that the educational experience of adolescentsin the developing world is coming more under themicroscope. The foundation for providing young people withthe skills they need to make the most of the opportunities inthe modern economy remains basic education. Such education,however, needs to teach students how to think and howto solve problems creatively rather than simply passing onknowledge. Technical and vocational education also needs tobe improved, and not treated as a second-best option for theless academic. It is also vital to extend the opportunity to participatefirst in basic education and subsequently in technicaland vocational courses to adolescents from marginalizedgroups within society. Flexible ‘catch-up’ programmes canoften reach these adolescents, especially if these are incorporatedinto national poverty reduction initiatives. 39This equitable dimension is fundamental. The most vulnerableadolescents – those affected, for example, by poverty,HIV and AIDS, drug use, disability or ethnic disadvantage –are unlikely to be reached by the ‘standard’ offer of secondaryschooling. 40 They will need to be approached through arange of strategies, including non-formal education, outreachand peer education, and the sensitive provision of educationwithin a context of treatment, care and support.Gender and protection in adolescenceMany of the key threats to children from violence, abuseand exploitation are at their height during adolescence.It is primarily adolescents who are forced into conflict aschild combatants, or to work in hazardous conditions aschild labourers. Millions of adolescents are subjected toexploitation, or find themselves in conflict with criminaljustice systems. Others are denied their rights to protectionby inadequate legal systems or by social and cultural normsthat permit the exploitation and abuse of children andadolescents with impunity.Threats to adolescent protection rights are exacerbatedby gender discrimination and exclusion. Genital mutilation/cutting,child marriage, sexual violence and domesticservitude are four abuses estimated to affect a far greaternumber of adolescent females than adolescent males. Butthere are also human rights abuses that largely befall adolescentboys because of assumptions about their gender; itis primarily boys, for example, who are forcibly recruitedas child combatants or who are required to perform themost physically punishing forms of child labour.Any examination of, or action on child protection – particularlyin relation to the adolescent years – must considerthe gender dimension. The other side of the coin is thataddressing violence, abuse and exploitation of adolescentsis vital to promoting gender equality and challenging theunderlying discrimination that perpetuates it.Violence and abuseViolence and sexual abuse, particularly against girls,are commonplace and too frequently toleratedActs of violence take place within the home, at school, andin the community; they can be physical, sexual or psychological.The full scale of violence against adolescents is impossibleto measure, given that most abuses occur in secret andremain unreported. Data from 11 countries with availableestimates show a wide variation in levels of violence againstadolescent females aged 15–19; in every country assessed,however, it remains an important problem. 41In addition to enduring violence from adults, however,adolescents are also much more likely to encounter violencefrom their peers than at any other stage in life. Acts of physicalviolence reach a peak during the second decade of life,with some adolescents using it to gain the respect of theirpeers or to assert their own independence. Most of this violencetends to be directed towards other adolescents.For many young people, the experience of physical violence,whether as victim or as perpetrator, is largely confined tothe teenage years and diminishes as they enter adulthood.Certain groups of adolescents are particularly vulnerableto physical violence, including those with disabilities, thoseliving on the streets, those in conflict with the law, andrefugee and displaced children.Sexual violence and abuse occur in many different formsand may happen anywhere: at home, in school, at work, inthe community or even in cyberspace. Although boys arealso affected, studies show that the majority of the victimsof sexual abuse are girls. Adolescents may be lured intocommercial sexual exploitation under the pretence of beingoffered education or employment, or in exchange for cash.Or they may become involved due to family pressure, orthe need to support their families, themselves, or both.realizing the rights of adolescents 31