Education under attack: New directions for analyzing attacks on students, educators, and educational facilities

• In Event: New Directions in Education in Emergencies Data

Proposal

This presentation will provide a case study of one initiative to improve our understanding how conflict impedes access to education. The discussion will focus on analysis of attacks on education in the context of the Education under Attack series and indicator 4.a.3 on attacks on students, education personnel, and educational institutions, which monitors progress in implementing Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, Quality Education. Education under Attack is the flagship report of the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA), a coalition comprised of UN agencies, human rights organizations, and NGOs working in education in emergencies, protection, and international human rights and humanitarian law. The series monitors and reports on attacks on education, including the threat of, or actual use of, force against students, teachers, professors, education personnel, or educational facilities and materials, as well as the military use of schools and universities. The most recent edition of the study reported on attacks on education in the 28 most highly affected countries. The data from Education under Attack is also serving as the primary source for reporting on SDG 4 indicator 4.a.3.

Data for Education under Attack is collated from a variety of sources, including in-country monitoring groups, civil society organizations, UN and NGO reports, and media sources. Data collection methods vary significantly from country to country and over time, and access to date depends on security conditions and resources. In addition, current methods for analyzing attacks on education do not differentiate between types of attacks and do not account for variation in the nature or impact of the incidents. This presentation will describe these challenges and discuss GCPEA’s work to address them and achieve more rigorous analysis and measurement of attacks on education. This will include an overview of a strengthened methodology for evaluating the severity of attacks on education in six-subcategories: (1) attacks on schools; (2) attacks on students, teachers, and other education personnel; (3) military use of schools and universities; (4) child recruitment at, or en route to or from, school; (5) sexual violence at, or en route to or from, school or university; and (6) attacks on higher education.

Author

• Amy Kapit, Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack