Getting to know School-Related Gender Based Violence & Creating Safe Spaces in Mali

• In Event: Measuring school-related gender-based violence: tools, resources, and lessons learned.

Proposal

In January 2016, USAID Mali supported the Education Emergency Support Activity (EESA), implemented by CAMRIS International and its partners Juárez & Associates (J&A), Human Network International (HNI), and COBO Construction, with the purpose of assisting the Government of Mali to restore access to basic education and strengthen the educational system in areas affected by conflict and crisis. The program worked with schools and communities to create safe learning environments encouraging gender equality, peace, and respect. The presentation will review the project’s community-based gender and GBV training activities; it’s accomplishments/limitations to date; and reflections on the sustainability of an ecological approach to the creation of safe, gender-equal learning environments.

Overview
Between 2016 and 2018, more than 1,500 teachers, directors, parents, traditional and religious leaders were trained across the country on gender and gender-based violence (GBV) in the classroom, with the objective of helping them adopt attitudes and behaviors that promote equitable teaching practices and learning opportunities for both girls and boys. The trainings created an ecosystem of support for gender transformation in the classroom; however, transformation was limited to school-related roles and responsibilities and did not extend to the content of pedagogical materials.

Accomplishments/limitations
J&A conducted a qualitative gender evaluation, which included in-depth interviews and sex-specific and mixed-sex focus groups with primary school-aged girls and boys; mothers and fathers of primary school-aged children; primary and remedial teachers; school directors; and members of school management committees. Participants indicated that where teachers were still not treating students equally, girls were being asked to perform household chores for their teachers, such as doing their laundry, and remained vulnerable to romantic advances from male teachers who might give them preferential treatment in exchange for relational or sexual favors. However, a majority of students (93%) felt that their teachers now treated them equally in class, which they defined as teachers asking questions of both equally and meting out similar punishments for both, classes being integrated and girls and boys sitting together on school benches, and boys and girls being asked to do school chores together. Although the training featured explanations and exercises to help teachers identify harmful norms and improve inclusivity in teaching and learning materials, they did not seem to have integrated this learning into their classroom practices and behaviors. One explanation may be that teachers continue to use government-issued materials that are not gender sensitive or inclusive, which may reinforce harmful biases against women, girls, and minorities.

Sustainability
An ecosystem approach to gender transformative change in the classroom appears as a sustainable practice for future gender-related educational activities in Mali, ensuring community support and energy for changes that might otherwise create resistance or perceived threats to social and gender norms. However, any changes toward gender equality and inclusion encouraged in teacher interaction with girls and boys must be accompanied by policy work at the national, regional, and local levels to provide teachers with updated, revised curriculum that reflects the country’s stated values for girls’ education and inclusive learning.

Author

• Karine Lepillez, Juárez and Associates