Safety tier: Addressing school-related gender-based violence through Journeys HIV/GBV prevention program and early warning system to address school dropout and violence

• In Event: Personal safety and well-being as a continuum of care: promising approaches from across the well-being continuum

Proposal

Violence against children in schools and school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) are preventing millions of Ugandan children from, especially girls, from exercising their right to a safe and inclusive education of good quality and is a persistent and universal problem occurring in every school in Uganda.

This presentation shares findings from the Integrated Child and Youth Development (ICYD) 2022 Safe Learning Environment Assessment as well as the responsive Journeys Plus programming. Among the hazards identifies are: 50% of learners experiencing bullying, 48% of teachers stating that there are places in and around the school that are unsafe for girls to go alone, 26% of learners said they would not disclose if they were sexually assaulted. These data are found within a context of social norms that perpetuate unequal gender power dynamics, lack of efforts to realize the vision for a safe and caring school, and ineffective weak coordination between the education system and child protection services.

To address the findings of the Safe Learning Environment Assessment, ICYD leveraged the Journeys Plus program, designed by the Uganda Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES), supported by USAID, and added a whole school approach to establish safe, gender-responsive and inclusive learning environment as well as an early warning system to prevent school dropout and violence. Towards these goals, ICYD trained teachers and community gatekeepers on early warning signs of school dropout, and empowered children and community members with knowledge of child rights, participation and gender equality and strengthened the referral system.

Some of the results and lessons learned include:

Scaling up SRGBV prevention efforts to all ICYD school communities must engage multiple stakeholders across the socio-ecological spectrum and across sectors.

The integration of mental health and the early warning system has improved the performance of the school communities’ GBV referral and response system.

Translation of the Journeys for Community Members and the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) Reporting, Tracking, Referral and Response Guidelines into the local languages has promoted dissemination and usage by parents and communities.

Author

• Makanga Herman, Education Development Center EDC