Violence in schools ruins the one real chance of a better and more prosperous life for many children and denies the communities and countries of a vital national asset – educated citizens. And all this is going on every day in schools all over Malawi, despite the fact that Malawi ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child which clearly provides for protection of children from any form of cruelty, abuse and neglect.

In Malawi, there are a number of factors that cause school going children to face violence and abuse. Some of them include poverty, ignorance on the rights of the child, insufficient involvement of parents and communities in the education and care of their children, and cultural attitudes and practices that promote gender imbalances and differential treatment of boys and girls.

A study conducted by the Centre for International Education, University of Sussex, UK  focused on ‘Violence in schools from a gender perspective in southern Africa’ found that too often, violence is perpetrated by those responsible for the child’s safety and well-being - their parents, teachers, guardians, the community at large and, in some cases, also the police. Children often have no place to go to report such violence, and no recourse when it occurs. They are betrayed not only by those who subject them to beatings, sexual violence, torture or even murder, but also by the authorities who fail to protect them or take appropriate action to hold perpetrators accountable.

In the study the girls interviewed reported that they experienced many different forms of violence, some of which include:

• Inappropriate / unsolicited sexualised touching by boys; intimidation in lessons
• Beatings and threats by teachers and boys
• Verbal abuse by teachers and peers, sexualised insults, name-calling
• Propositioning for sex by teachers, male students and men in the community
• Theft of food, money, pens, books belonging to girls within school campuses
• Rape and sexual abuse
• Punishments by teachers, including corporal punishment
• Running errands for teachers including cooking, cleaning and delivering books to teachers houses, sent to buy relish and other items from the market.

 

The study further reported views of the boys interviewed with regard to the nature of abuse experienced. The following were the results:

• Excessive corporal punishment, boys targeted unfairly
• Teachers’ preferential treatment of girls, boys often picked on by teachers for tougher non official/school related  assignments
• Verbal abuse by teachers and setting tough grades

 

The study also unveiled the impact of violence on the school children from social, health and academic dimensions.

The study found that violence in schools breeds more violence and the acceptance of violence in adult relationships. Further the study found that violence impedes development of social skills, self-confidence and increases the social/economic burden on governments, civil society and the community.

On the health side, the study recorded that violence in schools produces long term physical, psychological and emotional damage; depression, trauma, anxiety, suicide and low productivity. Children exposed to violence directly or indirectly are more likely to resort to high risk behaviours, e.g. substance abuse, alcoholism, smoking, eating disorders and premature indulgence in sexual activities – resulting in early pregnancy and STIs, including HIV/AIDS.

From the academic perspective, the study revealed that violence in schools has serious consequences on the attainment of education by the children. Children who experience violence in schools often resort to absenteeism, truancy and dropout which often leads to under-achievement.

Taking into account the results of this study and recommendations from Sussex university and an additional study by the Safer Schools Programme in Zomba which had similar conclusions,  AYISE has designed a learn without fear programme focusing on the three areas of programming namely prevention, reporting and response (PRR)

The main purpose of this project is to create a protective environment within schools and surrounding communities for achievement of positive education outcomes.

The Learn Without Fear project therefore engages with and builds the capacity of the learners in both primary and secondary schools in Blantyre city to enable them to address any violence they face while in the community or school environment. At the same time AYISE developed referral, reporting and support systems for the children who have suffered abuse.

Several activities were undertaken to achieve the broad goals of this project:

• Orientation on the Learn Without Fear project provided to  the District Assembly, District Executive and key district education authorities including zone managers and  PEAs
• Training on the rights of the child and the Learn Without Fear initiative provided to members of the Parents and Teachers Associations and school management committees of each of the 20 participating schools in Blantyre rural.
• Conducting awareness meetings on the rights of the child provided to parents, children and communities around the participating schools.
• Training and orientation on the rights of the child and the Learn Without Fear initiative provided to teachers from the participating schools
• Introduction of reporting and feedback boxes in form of “happiness” and “sadness” boxes for use by children in the participating schools.
• Organising of open days involving clusters of four schools to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the Learn Without Fear project and what it purports to achieve through sports and other activities.