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Recommendations

Involving the education sector

Recommendation 9

Make schools safe for girls.

Primary and secondary school systems should be heavily involved in making schools safe, including eradicating teacher violence, as well as engaging in broader anti-violence efforts.

There is room for improvement in action to eradicate physical and sexual violence by teachers against students in virtually all countries and all schools. In some cases, this requires fundamental changes within the education sector, and in school policies, environments and curricula. School policies should prohibit the use of violence as a form of punishment, and violence and harassment by and between teachers and students. Enforcement of such policies should be monitored.

Skills-based education is an effective way to enable students and staff to reduce potential conflicts, and to get involved in community actions to reduce violence and promote non-violent behaviour. School health programmes, such as HIV prevention programmes and reproductive health programmes (particularly those targeting sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies among adolescents) should address issues of gender, power, and freely given consent.

To be effective, programmes should begin early, involve both girls and boys (although probably with different information and key messages, and with a balance of single-sex and mixed-sex discussions), and apply age-appropriate learning. Such programmes must also be supported by relevant school policies, a supportive school environment, and school health services or referrals to care for and counsel victims and witnesses of violent incidents and harassment.