School-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) encompasses sexual, physical and psychological violence occurring at school and on the journey to and from school. It is violence that is perpetrated as a result of gender stereotyping, discriminatory practices and unequal gender relations. It includes explicit threats or acts of physical violence, bullying, verbal or sexual harassment, non-consensual touching, sexual coercion and assault, and rape. Corporal punishment and discipline in schools often manifest in highly gendered ways and unprecedented access to information and communications technology has resulted in new forms of intimidation, cyberbullying and sexual harassment.
Educational stakeholders, in particular, teachers and other school staff are the most important partners in addressing School-Related Gender-Based Violence (SRGBV). They are most of the times the perpetrators and in some cases acting with liberty that there is nothing anyone can do. Poorly enforced legislation, inadequate child protection policies and weak or non-existent reporting mechanisms all increase childrens vulnerability to SRGBV, said Martin-Mary, CEO Kids & Teens Resource Centre.
Until school-related gender-based violence is eliminated in and around schools across the world, many of the ambitious targets set by the global community through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to provide safe and supportive learning environments, to end violence against children in all settings and to achieve gender equality and eliminate violence against women and girls, will not be realized
The Educational Stakeholders Advocacy meeting on ending School Related Gender Based Violence in the FCT was attended by headteachers and principals from public and private secondary and primary schools, religious leaders and other parents of the students.
The stakeholders got a better understanding of the negative effects of the issues around GBV in Schools with their consequential effects on the students as individuals, their families, their communities and the nation at large.
They all went back to their communities with a greater resolve to support the fight to end GBV in schools
Until school-related gender-based violence is eliminated in and around schools across the world, many of the ambitious targets set by the global community through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to provide safe and supportive learning environments, to end violence against children in all settings and to achieve gender equality and eliminate violence against women and girls, will not be realized.