The Sunday Mail
Sharon Munjenjema
GOVERNMENT has launched a two-year pilot project in 10 schools aimed at curbing incidences of gender related violence among learners.
The project, is being championed by Forum for African Women Educationists-Zimbabwe chapter (FAWEZI) in partnership with international organisations — United Nations Girls Education Initiative (UNGEI) and Miske Witt Associates.
School Related Gender Based Violence (SRGBV) is violence directed at pupils because of their gender and includes sexual harassment, bullying, sexual violence as well as intimate partner violence in adolescent courtships.
Speaking at the launch in Harare on Friday, Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education permanent secretary, Mrs Tumisang Thabela, said girls were most vulnerable to gender based violence in schools.
She said this in a speech read on her behalf by Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education curriculum review and technical services director Dr Arthur Makanda.
“While Zimbabwe has had many efforts to contain and even eradicate SRGBV, including various policies and laws that deal with violence against children, the prevalence of SRGBV and its implication on education is still evident,” said Dr Thabela.
“Various studies show that girls are most at risk of GBV in and around schools, but boys have also become regular victims,”
The participating schools are Mutumba Primary and Secondary, Mupfure Primary and Secondary, Madziwa Rural Primary School, Tasimukira Primary School, Seke 2 High, Seke 6 High, Zengeza 4 High and St Aidan’s Primary School.
The project will see the holding of a series of workshops, on gender based violence, in the selected schools.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail, FAWEZ national co-ordinator Ms Lydia Madyirapanze said the project is aimed at ensuring a safe learning environment for children in schools.
“We are realising that gender based violence in school has an effect on completion of education and we want both boys and girls to be able to finish school,” she said.
“We basically want to try and end SRGBV while teaching responsiveness to it.”
Government has been making strides to promote gender inclusivity in schools.
The Education Amendment Bill, currently before Parliament, prohibits the expulsion of pregnant girls from school and outlaws corporal punishment in learning institutions.
