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[DAKAR, 20 May 2010] - Bullying, sexual violence and corporal punishment are still rife in West and Central African schools, according to an 18 May report which calls on governments to harmonise laws on child protection and education, and impose stricter standards on schools to reduce violence. Violence against children hardly features in justice or governance debates, and governments focus more on womenâs rights than childrenâs rights, say child protection agencies. âThe violence against children debate has been here for a while but there hasnât been sufficient follow-up, especially here in West Africa,â West Africa UNICEF protection adviser Joachim Theis told IRIN. âYou light a match and it doesnât always catch fire⌠Structures here are weak; here you can push and things donât always happen.â Violence in school leads to high drop-out rates, and reduces the chances of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on gender parity in primary and secondary schools being achieved, according to NGO ActionAid. Violence can also destroy childrenâs psychological well-being; impact their grades; and has health consequences, while sexual violence can also cause early pregnancy and affect childrenâs future sexual behaviour, says the report entitled Too Often in Silence: Addressing the Roots of School-Based Violence in West and Central Africa, by NGOs Save the Children Sweden, ActionAid, and Plan International, alongside the UN Childrenâs Fund (UNICEF). In Benin, Senegal, Central African Republic and Gambia, over half of primary school children were victims of corporal punishment in schools, according to studies. Evidence from Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia reveals Koranic students are at particular risk of being beaten - in Mauritania 76 per cent of Koranic school teachers admitted they beat their students. Sexual abuse occurs on the way to and from school, in school, and in teachersâ houses, according to the report. Perpetrators are almost always male school staff or students while the vast majority of victims are girls, though boys are also abused. âItâs only girlsâ Most educators are now aware of the problem of sexual violence against girls in schools, ActionAidâs Education Research and Policy Coordinator Victorine Kemonou Djitrinou told IRIN. âBut itâs `only girlsâ so people donât do much about it. Violence against girls it not always a priority. Girls are all alone.â There is little information on violence against children in general in the region, says UNICEFâs Theis, and the evidence there is, does not portray girlsâ own experiences of sexual, psychological and physical violence, says ActionAidâs education research and policy coordinator Akanksha Marphatia. Schools tend to mirror surrounding social structures and relationships so solutions cannot be found in isolation, said the report. Violence against girls is linked to gender relations in which male violence is sometimes accepted, as is female submission and passivity, it said. UNICEF surveys in Benin, Togo and Mauritania have shown many parents support corporal punishment as an integral part of education; while some see sexual relations between students and teachers as a viable way for the child to get ahead, according to Theis. Weak institutions, scattered laws Partly because of these norms, the political will to tackle violence against girls is not high, said ActionAidâs Marphatia. Furthermore, the justice, social affairs, women and development, and education ministries have separate policies and do not work together to stamp out violence. Of the states in the region, only Ghana, Gambia, Liberia, Nigeria and Togo address school-based violence in their national education plans; just six West or Central African states have national codes of conduct for schools against sexual abuse and violence; while Southern Sudan is the only African state to have outlawed corporal punishment in schools, according to Save the Children Swedenâs Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Childrenâs 2009 global report. The ministries leading the fight are not always the strongest âand the institutional response is just not there,â said ActionAidâs Marphatia. National child protection systems are in general weak in West and Central Africa. However, responsibility also lies with international policy-makers who have to date not yet stressed violence in schools, said ActionAid. Not a single MDG mentions violence. Opportunities The UN Girls' Education Initiative, which pushes MDG attainment, is currently meeting in Senegal and violence is one of its three central themes. This presents an opportunity for specialists in education, womenâs rights and child protection to start working together, said Theis. These specialists are developing country action plans - albeit legally non-binding ones - on how to reduce violence in schools. âWe need to come at this from all angles - legislation, standard-setting, setting up complaints mechanisms,â he said. Child protection agencies suggest these action plans include: Recommendations for schools to recruit more female teachers; improved teacher training on violence and childrenâs rights; a push for governments to improve child protection systems by training legal professionals; and a start to the monitoring and reporting of violence against children. International donors including the World Bank also have a âhuge roleâ in insisting on compliance in reducing violence as part of their education aid packages, said Theis. Several NGOs in the region are working with teachersâ unions to develop codes of conduct. âWe canât victimize teachers - only a small percentage of teachers are abusers,â stressed Marphatia. Save the Children and teachersâ unions have developed a teachersâ code of conduct in CĂ´te dâIvoire, which has been presented to the Ministry of Education; ActionAid has done the same in Ghana; while in Mauritania, religious groups have enacted a `fatwaâ against corporal punishment in the school and home.
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