“Violence at schools and discrimination creates educational environments which prevent women and girls from achieving their potential.”
 
“Individuals and communities should be educated about gender-based violence, empowering them to prevent it.” Soroptimist Where We Stand Statement.
 
SDG Goal 4.a: “Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent and effective learning environments for all.”
 

“Soroptimist International supports education
for young people regarding human rights and healthy relationships in the effort to
combat the endemic spread of violence against women and girls. 

Legislation exists in many countries which
should protect women and girls from many, if not all forms of violence in every
day life and relationships. However, there are thousands of women and
girls who are not aware of the protection they are entitled to. In many
cases they are subjected to violence by those who should be protecting them, or
they are not believed by the police or law enforcers if they complain.

It is important that as Soroptimists we raise
awareness amongst vulnerable women in communities, often in rural communities,
so that they are aware of the laws in their country.  It is critical that
in education programmes, young men and women are taught about healthy
relationships, and the right of every human being to be treated with dignity
and respect.

Soroptimists in many countries have adopted
the ‘Loves Me, Loves Me Not’ book mark, which outlines for young people the
expectations of a healthy relationship, as well as describing what it could be
like to be in an abusive relationship. The bookmarks have been
distributed through schools, colleges and libraries, often with supporting
classes.

In some countries where literacy levels are
low, Soroptimists and friends have taken small plays, or skits into communities
to show women and girls what is unacceptable behaviour in relationships. This
has been so popular in some parts of India that the Soroptimists
and their skits have been invited back for repeat performances!”

Pat Black
IDA

 

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

WAGGGS – VOICES AGAINST VIOLENCE

 

The Voices
against Violence curriculum makes up the educational component of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts’(WAGGGS) global advocacy campaign: Stop the Violence – speak out for
girls’ rights. The overarching objective of the campaign is to end all forms of
violence against girls and young women. 

The curriculum was created in
partnership with UN Women and is unique in that it uses non-formal education to
create a safe and supportive space where young people – girls and young women,
boys and young boys, aged from 5 to 25 years – are able to freely discuss what
it means to be a girl or a boy, explore why violence happens, what it looks
like and be given the skills and confidence to claim their rights and challenge
gender inequality, the root cause of violence.

The curriculum was piloted in 2012
in 20 of WAGGGS’ 146 Member Organisations across the world, and is currently on
the way to being implemented in 30 countries through the use of a grant
received from Zonta International.  The process for this began in December
2014 with a global ‘training of trainers’ ACTIVATE event, delivered by WAGGGS,
which was attended by national trainers from select Member Organisations. There
will be four of these events in this phase of the programme – the second took
place in Zambia in April 2015 and the third in USA in October 2015. The national
trainers who attend these events then return home and replicate the ACTIVATE
event by training leaders in their association. These leaders then deliver the
Voices against Violence curriculum with the young people in their units and
troops through six hour and a half sessions.

 

 

Photo: Sexual Harassment Discussion with
participants in the second ACTIVATE event training creating a problem tree to
look at the causes and consequences of sexual harassment. 

At this point in time 135 national
trainers have attended the global WAGGGS ACTIVATE events and these trainers are
currently replicating the training events in 12 countries: Fiji, India, Italy,
Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, Portugal, Sri Lanka and
Zambia. The impact of the training events, and the curriculum itself, is
measured through Knowledge, Awareness and Attitude (KAA) questionnaires that
the participants complete prior to and post event/curriculum session. So far,
96% of national trainers have shown an improvement in their knowledge,
awareness and attitudes around gender inequality, what it means to be male or
female, forms of violence and who is to blame.

 

Photo:
Two national trainers from Italy showing the Voices Against Violence curriculum

 

Azizah from Malaysia, who attended
the first of the four global ACTIVATE events supported by Zonta International,
summed up her experience by saying; “Without realizing indirectly, Violence is
actually happening in Malaysia widely. With the knowledge and ways of
approaches [I have] learnt, I have taken the first step to spread the message
in my country and I will not stop until I see the results… Because I believe
CHANGE starts from ME!”

Azizah
has been training other trainers and leaders in her country since May 2015 as
well as organising a ‘Stop the Violence’ Roadshow to raise awareness of the
issue of violence against girls which was attended by over 1000 people.

 

Photo: Azizah (far left) during the
first ACTIVATE event training discussing child protection 

The Voices against Violence
curriculum is a unique prevention tool as it tackles the issue of violence at
its’ root and focuses on transforming attitudes and promoting healthy
relationships from a very young age. By learning about their human rights the
young people who take part in the curriculum not only have a clearer
understanding of what constitutes violence and tools to challenge cultural and
traditional myths that condone the continuation of violence but they are also
empowered to carry out an advocacy campaign in their local community at the end
of the six week process and stand up as more than just victims, as agents of
change.

To find out more about the Voices
against Violence curriculum CLICK HERE to visit WAGGGS’ website

 

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School related Gender Violence

"An estimated 246 million girls and boys experience school-related violence every year and one in four girls say that they never feel comfortable using school latrines, according to a survey on youth conducted across four regions. The extent and forms of school-related violence that girls and boys experience differ, but evidence suggests that girls are at greater risk of sexual violence, harassment and exploitation. In addition to the resulting adverse psychological, sexual and reproductive health consequences, school-related gender-based violence is a major obstacle to universal schooling and the right to education for girls". UN Women
For further information click HERE

In 2014, as part of the
Promoting Equality and Safety In Schools Initiative, Plan International and the
International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW)
undertook research in five countries in Asia (Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal,
Pakistan and Vietnam), to assess the prevalence, nature, response and reporting
of various forms of school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) in,
around and on the way to school. Speaking to more than 9,000 girls and boys
across these countries about their experiences of violence and gender equality
in schools. The findings from this research has been pivotal in
designing an effective programme that responds to the real needs, priorities
and interests of girls and boys in these countries.

 

Click on the image above to view the report from Plan International

 

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Participation in Education

Education is a human right, enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. A development investment – educating a girl benefits not only the girls themselves, but their own children and families, their communities, and society at large.  Educated women are often healthier, have more access to employment, are less likely to marry early and against their will, less likely to die in childbirth and are more likely to send their children to school.

"When all children have access to a quality education rooted in human rights and gender equality, it creates a ripple effect of opportunity that influences generations to come”. UNICEF

According to The ‘World’s Women 2015’, “The past two decades have witnessed remarkable progress in participation in education. Enrolment of children in primary education is at present nearly universal. The gender gap has narrowed, and in some regions girls tend to perform better in school than boys and progress in a more timely manner. However, in some developing countries that have not reached gender parity, the disparities against girls are stark. Today, 58 million children of primary school age are out of school worldwide. More than half of these are girls and nearly three quarters live in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia”. 

Source: ‘The World’s Women 2015’

 

Click on the image above to view the infographic – The World’s Women 2015 Chapeter 3: Education