Judith Mirsky

May 2003

This Panos report aims to focus on the global problems of gender violence in the education sector. The report states that gender violence often occurs in the very places where girls and young women should be safe - in schools, universities and higher education institutes. Harassment and violence often involves peers, but teachers and other staff are also perpetrators. While young men and boys are sometimes the victims, more often they are girls and young women.

The report includes a range of initiatives to address gender violence in schools from around the world, including new legislation in the UK, teacher training in South Africa, the schoolgirl guardians programme in Tanzania, anti-bullying strategies in the USA, the "Girls' Power" initiative in Nigeria, workshops dealing with violence and gender discrimination in Bolivia, Venezuela, Sri Lanka, an internet based adolescent reproductive health pack in Zimbabwe and community discussions in Uganda.

Judy Mirsky, the author of "Beyond victims and Villains", says: "Addressing sexual violence in the education sector lies at the heart of human rights, public health and education agendas. Education institutions are places where students learn values, as well as the information and skills they need to pass exams. As such, they need to set standards of conduct that will continue into the wider world, and help to make it a safer place."

Table of Contents

• Executive Summary
• The global context: the gender violence and human-rights movements
• Sexual harassment
• The extent of sexual violence in educational settings
• The significance of sexual violence in educational settings
• Beyond victims and villains: new models

Click here for more information and to download this report in PDF and Word (.doc) format.

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