Photo: © Julia Novichenok, UNICEF
On 10-11 February, 2015 UNESCO Moscow Office in collaboration with UNICEF Belarus held the Regional expert meeting on prevention of school-related gender-based violence. Representatives of ministries of education from 7 Eastern European and Central Asian countries, leading experts in the field of education, representatives of NGOs and international organizations took part at the meeting to share country-specific experiences and discuss the Regional guide on school-based violence prevention and response developed by UNESCO.
Violence and discrimination negatively affect school attendance, learning ability and academic performance. Victims of violence are more likely to miss, skip, or drop out of school and at the end they are deprived of the opportunity to fully realize their right to education. Most cases of school-based violence are not reported and often go unnoticed. In some cultural contexts aggressive behavior of children in educational settings or degrading psychological and physical treatment by teachers towards students remain acceptable. Gender stereotypes, roles or norms often stay behind numerous acts of violence, bullying or discrimination in school. Recent research conducted in several EECA countries has revealed that up to two thirds of students (66%) have been exposed to violence in schools. However, school administration and staff are not always prepared to take adequate measures to prevent violence and respond to it.
To assist educators and school administration to effectively prevent and respond to violence, UNESCO Moscow Office has developed a regional guide which examines various forms of violence that take place in schools (with particular attention to gender-related violence) and offers practical suggestions how to create a violence-free school and protect children from discrimination.
The draft guide was presented to the experts from EECA countries at the Regional expert meeting on prevention of school-related gender-based violence which took place on February 10-11, 2015 in Minsk. It was organized by UNESCO Moscow in collaboration with UNICEF Belarus. The meeting provided a platform to discuss the Regional guide and develop recommendations for finalization of the guide. The meeting participants got an excellent opportunity to share country-specific experiences in addressing school-based violence as well as learn about internationally proven approaches.
Experts from the Republic of Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine presented national and local policies, guidelines and training resources which had been piloted to enhance schools' capacities in preventing and addressing violence at different settings and scale, shared achievements and discussed the needs for further capacity building. All participants agreed that whole-school approach has to be applied to improve the school climate, establish clear rules, responsibilities and procedures to effectively prevent, identify and respond to cases of violence. In this regard, the participants commended the Regional guide on school-based violence prevention and response which would become an important reference point for countries to develop their national and local policies to prevent and respond to violence in educational settings.
Recommendations and comments provided by the participants will inform the finalization of the Regional guide on school-based violence prevention and response which will disseminated among the national ministries of education across the region for country specific adaptation during 2015-2016.
Programme of the meeting (in Russian)
Source: UNESCO Office in Moscow