This paper examines how policies and strategies to address school-related gender-based violence have evolved since 2000, when gender-based violence within education was largely invisible. It traces remarkable progress in research, policy and programmes, particularly since the mid-2000s when evidence around the globe exposed high levels of many forms of violence. However, there is still insufficient knowledge about what works to reduce violence, and weaknesses in processes of policy enactment which inhibit effective action. Through four country case studies, in South Africa, Brazil, India and Liberia, this paper explores how different forms of violence are being addressed in varying contexts. It concludes that more attention is needed to the space between national and local policy enactments, and to tackling at national, district, school and community levels the norms and inequalities at the heart of gender-based violence.