Image: Nigerian Soroptimists are continuing to call for the safe return of the abducted schoolgirls

The world has rightly been focussed on more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram on 15 April from a school in the northeastern
village of Chibok in Borno state.  Over a month later, most remain
missing.  Sadly, this tragedy, while shocking in scale, is not an
isolated incident.  As Soroptimist International launches a new position statement on access to education, Head of Programme and Advocacy Reilly Dempsey highlights the shocking extent of violence faced many girls at school and calls for action. 

Schools are one of the primary sites for sexual violence.
Often, girls need to walk very long distances to get to school, sometimes
in the dark, exposing them to extreme risk and vulnerability. In a survey of
girls attending secondary school in Zimbabwe, 50% reported unsolicited sexual
contact from strangers on their way to and from school, while 92% reported
being propositioned by older men. In the US, 83% of girls attending public
school reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment. In Malawi, half of
all schoolgirls had experienced sexual violence in school. Read more in

Girls living in rural areas are even more
exposed, as the distances between villages and schools can be extremely long.
In even more extreme cases, in some high risk countries girls walking to and
from school are targeted for abduction for trafficking. It is estimated that
every year, 60 million girls are sexually assaulted at or en route to school. The
global community has done so much work to increase girls’ access to school, to
see this now becoming a significant risk factor for exposure to violence has
the potential to undo decades of positive strides forward (see  SI’s 2012-2013
Global Impact Report and ActionAid’s 2013 report Destined to Fail: how violence against women is undoing development for more on this subject).

If we want to educate, empower, and enable women and girls,
then we must work to reduce the incidents of gender-violence, targeting girls in
schools.  Schools must be made safe
spaces for girls and women, no matter where they are in the world.

Most importantly at this moment in time, we must not let
#bringbackourgirls be a “one-off”.  We must not forget the girls still missing in Nigeria, but we must also build international momentum and attention on this critical wider issue, at a time
when global leaders will be setting the development agenda for the foreseeable
future. 

It is our responsibility to raise awareness about all the
girls all over the world who are at risk, who are regularly subjected to
violence when they attend school, or who don’t go to school because they are
afraid.  Be their global voice and speak
out for them.  Make schools safe places
so women and girls can achieve their fullest potential. 

What goes on in your community?  Are the schools on your doorstep safe places
for girls?  No matter where you are,
there are girls in your area experiencing violence in an educational
setting.  It’s time to do something about it.   

Read Soroptimist International’s new position statement: Where We Stand – Women and Access to Education.