Sexual Violence In Schools

School violence is a global phenomenon that impacts millions of children worldwide, especially high school student. Available data on violence against children allow us to build a partial picture of violence in schools, but a significant number of cases are under-reported and the exact number of children suffering as a result of school violence remains unknown. For Human Rights Watch (2014), school violence is defined as acts or threats of sexual, physical or psychological violence occurring in and around schools, perpetrated as a result of social norms and gender stereotypes, and enforced by unequal power dynamics. It also refers to the differences between girls’ and boys’ experiences of and vulnerabilities to violence. Estimates from Plan

For Mncube and Harber (2013), studies from other regions, although fewer in number, also reveal the extent of sexual violence in schools. A study in the Netherlands found 27% of students had been sexually harassed by school personnel. In the United Kingdom, it is estimated that one in three 16–18 year olds have experienced unwanted sexual touching in schools. Girls from the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama regularly experience sexual harassment in schools and ‘sexual blackmail’ related to

A study conducted by Leach et al., (2014) in Yemen found that 31%of schoolchildren were exposed to sexual harassment and abuse. A 2014 baseline survey for Plan’s Promoting Equality and Safety in Schools (PEASS) programme conducted in five countries in Asia highlights incidences of sexual violence against both boys and girls. In Indonesia, 12% of both boys and girls aged 12–17 reported experiencing sexual violence in the previous six months. Despite this growing evidence base, experiences of sexual violence, abuse, coercion and harassment at school often remain undocumented and shrouded in silence. Social taboos make researching these issues difficult in many countries. The prevalence of these forms of SRGBV not only remains under-reported but also under-researched. Some large-scale health surveys and learning assessments regularly collect data on school bullying. The SACMEQ III survey from 2007 is currently the only learning assessment that provides comparable data on sexual harassment in schools. Yet this information is limited in reach because the data were not collected from pupils and, as such, were not disaggregated by gender. Furthermore, school principals’ perceptions of the problem might provide an incomplete portrayal of lived realities. Global comparable data, with clearly defined measures for girls’ and boys’ experiences of sexual violence and