'PLAN's' global advocacy campaign against violence in schools

In 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, British war correspondent John Langdon-Davies found a small child wandering alone through the ravaged streets of Santander. In the child’s pocket was a note that read: “This is José. I am his father. When Santander falls I shall be shot. Whoever finds my son, I beg of him to take care of him for my sake.” Deeply affected by the plea, Langdon-Davies took the child by the hand and took the first steps to establishing what is now PLAN.

Langdon-Davies conceived the idea of a personal relationship between an orphaned child and an English sponsor. He and refugee worker Eric Muggeridge, who was horrified at the number of sick and starving children he encountered, began an operation to provide food, accommodation and education for some of the thousands of children orphaned by the war.

Learning without fear

PLAN works with children, their families, communities, organizations and local governments to implement programs at grassroots level in health, education, water, sanitation, income generation and cross-cultural communication. They encourage and help children to take an active role in finding solutions to their problems and realizing their full potential.

“Learn Without Fear” is a campaign launched in the 66 countries where PLAN is working but it aims to directly improve the lives of millions of children around the world. This campaign envisions a world where children can go to school in safety and expect a quality learning experience without fear or threats of violence.

Information from the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children and specially commissioned research of PLAN identifies that the main issues affecting the school children are corporal punishment, sexual violence and bullying.

Corporal punishment

Corporal punishment ranges from teachers hitting students, burning, scalding or forcing children to sit in uncomfortable positions for lengthy periods of time. Ninety-nine out of the 197 countries monitored by the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children permit teachers to legally beat children. Countries where corporal punishment is illegal do not enforce laws to protect them.

Corporal punishment is often justified as done in the name of tradition, and sometimes in the name of religion. It is defended as a method of discipline. In some countries, hitting a child is considered a “right” of parents and teachers and is supposedly beneficial to the child’s behavior. On the contrary, it is more likely to result in violent acts rather than improve behavior. Children who are physically punished are less likely to engage in altruistic behavior or empathize with others. Victims are also more likely to engage in disorderly and aggressive conduct and more likely to hit their spouse and their own children, thus perpetuating the cycle of violence in their families and communities.

Sexual violence

Sexual violence is usually carried out by people known to the child and that school-based sexual abuse is a major problem in many countries. Girls are at greater risk in school violated by both male teachers and students. Studies in Africa and Latin America have found that some girls are coerced into sexual acts by teachers who threaten them with poor grades if they do not cooperate. Unfortunately, in many countries, perpetrators are not held accountable for their crimes.

In societies where women have a lower status, girls are more likely to suffer sexual violence in school. Meantime in Latin America, South Asia and Islamic South East Asia, sexual violence against girls tends to remain hidden because of the importance attached to girls’ sexual purity. In some African countries, folks believe that AIDS can be cured by having sex with a virgin leading to the abuse of students with disabilities who are easy targets.

Victims of sexual violence suffer physical and psychological trauma. They are at risk of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Young girls’ health suffers seriously, including the consequences of unwanted pregnancy such as death, and unsafe abortions. They may become the victims of social stigma or be forced to leave school.

Bullying

Bullying can come in the form of physical intimidation, verbal and social bullying. More recently, cyber bullying is being done with the use of the internet, mobile phone and other digital technologies, which allow bullying to take place at any time almost without limitation. Only five of the 66 countries examined in PLAN’s research have laws prohibiting bullying in schools.

Bullying is linked to experiences of violence at home. Those who suffer from family violence are more likely to be bullies or bullied. Physical violence is also more common in schools that are overcrowded with inadequate adult supervision and poor school policies. Schools located in violent or poor neighborhoods or where discrimination against ethnic or other groups are also more likely to experience violence. Rising levels of deprivation, inequality and social exclusion also play a large part in school-based violence.

Victims of bullying do not report their experiences because they usually blame themselves and feel ashamed. They also believe that schools will not take real action to improve the situation. As a result, the victims lose their self-esteem, suffer anxiety and come to dislike school. They can also develop concentration problems and learning difficulties. Others become aggressive, sometimes bullying other classmates in an effort to regain status. Some other victims refuse to go back to school and eventually drop-out. Studies suggest that childhood experience of bullying increases anti-social and risk-taking behavior in adult life. Bullies also experience anxiety, depression and are at higher risk of suicide and self-harm.

The problem is worldwide

The global United Nations Study on Violence Against Children, published in October 2006, shows that: (1) 53,000 children were murdered in 2002; (2) between 20 and 65 percent of school-aged children reported having been verbally or physically bullied; (3) 150 million girls and 73 million boys under 18 experience forced sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual violence; (4) between 100 and 140 million girls and women in the world have undergone some form of female genital cutting; (5) 1.8 million are involved in prostitution and pornography; and (6) 1.2 million are victims of trafficking.

The study also shows that the vast majority of violence is carried out by people who are part of the children’s lives – they are usually know to children and trusted by them. These include parents, school friends, teachers, employers, boyfriends, girlfriends, spouses and partners.

Parents and teachers’ role in discouraging abuses

School conflicts occur between the strong oppressing the weak: the adult teacher or the bigger student may be the culprit. Building confidence of children prevents quarrels. Elementary school children are quite reasonable and likely to reconcile with one another. More heated fights occur in high school since teenagers are emotional.

Teachers and staff are also trained to make incident reports within 24 hours. Daily review of quarrels, accidents, etc. should be done with the whole class. Class discussion psychologically helps. Incidents must be reported to the parents within the day. These are addressed accordingly by the academic heads by giving counseling besides the appropriate sanctions.

Children are vulnerable against self-righteous adults. An organized school environment is conducive to smooth relationship among teachers and students. Parent-teacher orientation during school opening is imperative. The school booklet of rules must be provided while a billboard of regulations to remind all can be posted in the lobby. 

(Reference: www.plan-international.org/learnwithoutfear)

(For more information or reaction, please e-mail at [email protected] or [email protected])