Safe Schools: Every girl's right
Safe Schools report cover. A young girl leaps through the ribbon as she wins a race at her school in Dhaka, Bangladesh."© 2004 Roobon/The Hunger Project-Bangladesh, Courtesy of Photoshare
When a girl grabs her book bag and runs off to school in the morning, she looks forward to having fun with her schoolmates, learning new skills, exploring the world under the guidance of a thoughtful teacher and playing games on the sports fields. Or does she? Does she instead fear for her safety, dread humiliating and violent treatment or simply hope to get through another day?
Schools reflect their wider society. The same forms of violence which women suffer throughout their lives – physical, sexual and psychological – affect the lives of girls in and around their schools. Schools must be places for children to learn and grow. But many girls all over the world go to school fearing for their safety. This reality threatens many girls’ right to an education.
Without an education, it is difficult for girls to break the cycles of poverty, violence and disease. Education is a human right, and therefore every girl’s right.
Girls experience many different forms of violence. Every day, girls are assaulted on their way to school, pushed and hit on school grounds, teased and insulted by their classmates and humiliated through whisper campaigns, cell phone messages or on the Internet. They face sexual assault from other students, are offered higher marks by teachers in exchange for sexual favours, even raped in the staff room. Some are caned or beaten in the name of discipline.
In war zones, the dangers increase, with girls being seized by armed groups or injured or killed on the road or when their school is attacked. Sexual abuse and exploitation of girls are common in refugee or displaced persons camps.
Other factors increase the risk of violence. Lesbian girls and those with disabilities often face discrimination. Migrants, orphans and those with HIV are at higher risk, as are those discriminated against because of caste, ethnicity and race.
The result of these abuses is that girls are kept out of school, drop out of school or do not fully participate in school. Abused girls not only experience fear and pain, but lowered self-esteem, poor school performance, sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancies and depression. When violence disrupts a girl’s education, she faces poorer employment opportunities and her chances of entering into an early marriage are greater.
The problems caused by violence are exacerbated by the fact that girls often choose not to report the abuse. It continues to be a taboo issue in some societies. Or the girls may fear retaliation. That leaves such acts under-reported and allows the abusers to go unpunished.
Changes Amnesty International wants to see:
Under international law, primary education is a right for all children. Governments, teachers and school authorities must work to:
- Prevent violence against girls in schools
- Promptly investigate reports of abuse
- Impose appropriate punishments on offenders
- Support those who have suffered violence to recover
- Ensure that such abuses do not recur.
Amnesty International is demanding that states take immediate action to fulfill their commitments to make schools safe for girls. They can do that by taking the following six steps:
Step 1: Prohibit all forms of violence against girls
Step 2: Plan to make schools safe for girls
Step 3: Respond to incidents of violence against girls
Step 4: Provide support services for girls who have suffered violence
Step 5: Remove barriers to girls’ access to education
Step 6: Protect girls from abuse
Updated: 6 March 2008