Learn Without Fear: Plan launches global campaign to end violence in schools

Education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty, yet fear of bullying, corporal punishment and sexual assault is holding 350 million children back. In a global effort to tackle the issue Plan has launched a campaign to end violence in schools - Learn Without Fear.

"Violence is an outrageous violation of children's fundamental rights. Education is supposed to unlock children's potential, not condemn them to an uncertain and vulnerable future" said Ian Wishart CEO of Plan Australia.

Listen to Ian Wishart talk about the campaign on ABC radio:Connect Asia

Education is the key to eliminating poverty and giving children the chance to improve their lives. The campaign is underpinned by the Convention of the Rights of the Child and the Millennium Development Goals both of which recognise education as being the turning point for children, their families, their communities and ultimately their state.

The comprehensive Learn Without Fear report shows that:

• Girls as young as 10 are being forced to have sex by their teachers to pass exams, and threatened with poor grades and failure if they refuse.
  
  
• Every year, more than 350,000,000 children suffer some type of violence in school. That's equivalent to more than the entire population of the United States.
  
  
• 90 countries continue to allow teachers to legally use corporal punishment and laws in countries that do ban it are often poorly enforced.

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, everywhere in schools in developing countries that are supposed to nurture and protect children.

Violence in schools in the developing world is a much larger problem than most people realise. Ian Wishart CEO of Plan explains “We know education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty, and violence in schools has been identified as a significant reason for lack of attendance and hampered performance. It is imperative we tackle this issue”.

Ana, 19 from El Salvador, had been abandoned by her parents and was not yet a teenager when she was sexually assaulted by her teacher. She said:

“My grandma put me in school and always told me to obey my teacher. I grew up thinking that if I didn’t obey my teacher I would be punished.

“When my teacher asked me to stay with him after class and asked to touch me, I obeyed because he said that he was like a father to me and that he had to teach me fatherly things. I was 10 or 11 at that time and I thought he cared about me much more than my own parents because he had never left me.”

Corporal Punishment is more common than you could imagine

To paint a clearer picture of the issue on a global scale lets look at corporal violence. There is no reason for a teacher to hit a child and as part of Learn Without Fear, Plan is committed to working with teachers, parents and caregivers to show them alternative discipline methods.

Recent research has revealed 90 countries out of 197 legally permit teachers to physically punish children. In Latin America teachers are permitted to hit students in 14 out of 19 countries, in Africa it is lawful in 33 countries, in Asia 16 countries have no legal restrictions, in the developed world it is legal in France, Korea and in some states of the USA and Australia. Despite this all countries (except the USA and Somalia) have ratified the CRC which requires states to protect children from all forms of physical and mental violence. Yet only 23 have declared a total ban on corporal punishment.

To get more of an understanding of why violence is so prolific in schools in the developing world we must look to some of the possible causes. For example in Kenya when primary school fees were eliminated 1.5 million new children enrolled in school. The average class size tripled to 120 students posing enormous challenges for teachers. Not only is this likely to reinforce teachers reliance on physical punishment, it also decreases their ability to intervene and monitor cases of student violence and bullying.

What Plan is doing to help end violence in schools

Ian Wishart said “This report presents shocking and irrefutable evidence that children across the globe are regularly sexually and physically abused by the very adults who have a duty to protect them. Violence in schools is too often viewed as acceptable or necessary by education authorities, parents and governments.

“But the evidence uncovered shows it causes lasting mental and physical suffering. Violence is an outrageous violation of children’s fundamental rights. Education should unlock children’s’ potential, not condemn them to an uncertain and vulnerable future.

“We all have a role to make sure that children can go to school without fear or threat of violence and receive a quality education in a safe and secure environment. Learn Without Fear may be Plan’s campaign, but it’s everyone’s responsibility.”

Ian Wishart explains “We will be working with school leaders and teachers in countries in which we work to promote violent free schools and promote alternative forms of discipline. In addition Plan actively promotes children’s awareness of their rights and encourages children’s participation in school governance”.

Education for all is achievable

Plan's vision is of a world where children can go to school in safety and expect a quality learning experience without fear or threats of violence. The campaign aims to ensure that:

• People who hurt children are punished
  
  
• Children can safely report incidents and victims get care and support
  
  
• Children are recognised as partners in addressing violence in schools
  
  
• Governments commit significant resources (eg for teacher training) to tackle the problem
  
  
• International organisations such as UN and development banks help governments to tackle the issues
  
  
• Pupils, parents, teachers and the community work together to expel violence from schools.

Ian Wishart said “Plan hopes that together we can work towards achieving safe, violence free schools. Education is so vitally important to developing countries, we hope Learn Without Fear brings the reality of education for all closer where its most needed.”

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