Continuing the fight against school-based GBV

Posted by Khanyi Khuzwayo on 08 July 2024, 15:30 SAST

Participants engaging in group work

HIV&AIDS—together with issues such as poverty, early and unintended pregnancies and even natural disasters— continues to be a serious threat to young people (especially girls and young women) attaining their full potential, and negatively impacts their mental health and wellbeing. Closely interconnected challenges such as these are exacerbated by the scourge of genderbased violence (GBV), and even more so when it is perpetrated in schools, which are supposed to be places where children’s fundamental rights, including the right to education and safety, are protected. School-related GBV comes in different forms—physical, sexual and psychological—and is rooted in harmful gender norms and stereotypes that are present, to some extent, in all societies around the world. 

Some of the training materials used

With this in mind, in 2023 FutureLifeNow! in Lesotho partnered with UNESCO to support the Ministry of Education and Training to train teachers in pilot schools on UNESCO’s Connect with Respect: Preventing gender-based violence in schools Project.

Developed under UNESCO’s O3 initiative—Our rights, Our lives, Our future—Connect with Respect aims to support countries in sub-Saharan Africa to deliver comprehensive sexuality education for adolescents and young people, thereby promoting a safe, healthy and conducive school and community environment, free from bullying and violence. In other words: A place where every child feels safe and where every adult takes responsibility to ensure everyone’s safety. Malesaoana Molapo (National Program Officer—Education For Health And Wellbeing, Unesco)

Following the initial training-of-trainers, the three partners have continued their collaboration. In December 2023, and again in April 2024, the Lesotho FutureLife-Now! team supported the training of another 30 teachers from 10 project schools, as well as Ministry officials from two districts. According to Mpheng Molapo, Coordinator of the Learner Care and Welfare Unit, Ministry of Education and Training, the purpose of this supplementary training was to build teachers’ capacity on how to most effectively use the Connect with Respect manual. Another important focus was to develop teachers’ appreciation of the role schools must play in providing protection for children, and that it is critical that a whole-school approach be adopted to eradicate school-based SGV.

Respectful relations between learners and teachers were also emphasized during training. As acknowledged by one of the trained teachers, Respectful relations are key and necessary in the school environment as they influence learner motivation and academic outcomes and lead to reductions in risk-taking behaviour (such as use of drugs and alcohol). Victoria Kent (St Saviours High School)

Participants hard at work

The newly trained teachers are now implementing Connect with Respect in their schools, either integrated into various subjects or as a standalone in the curriculum. FutureLife-Now! is also supporting these 10 schools to implement action research plans to address a major GBV issue they have identified in their schools.

The FutureLife-Now! country manager for Lesotho, Rantsane Kuleile, sums up the value of the training and the programme itself: Connect with Respect fits well with FutureLife-Now! Programme, which is aimed at developing young adults with the requisite 21st century skills, including leadership, agency and resilience skills.