A new youth and survivor-led advocacy briefing on school-related GBV galvanizes greater political will and addresses the gendered power dynamics which drive violence, in and throughout school settings.

An estimated 246 million girls and boys experience violence in and around schools every year¹. Despite knowing the huge scale and wide-reaching impacts of school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) not enough is being done politically and at the education policy level to end violence in schools.

Not enough is being done to recognise and address the gendered drivers and dimensions of violence either. 60 million girls experience sexual assault going to school each year. In some countries girls are more likely to experience violence than become literate.²

Youth and survivor advocates are key in transformative approaches to preventing and responding to SRGBV.

To effectively promote a safe schools agenda we must centre those most affected, amplify locally-led solutions, and call governments and other decision-makers to account.

New advocacy brief: safe & gender transformative schools

As part of Women Deliver 2023, Together for Girls hosted an interactive session to launch a new SRGBV briefing. Developed by the Safe to Learn Initiative it focuses on achieving systemic and sustainable change with youth.

The briefing strengthens collective advocacy messaging and political recommendations on the intersections of gender and violence; and influence political stakeholders who can enable efforts to end gender-based violence in, around and through schools.

Of special interest is the intergenerational quality to the briefing. Authored by seasoned experts, as well as young people and youth led coalitions. Its impact is felt by also including survivors as a part of this conversation, as victors, and not just as victims.

Speakers shared their dynamic approaches to survivor- and youth-led advocacy for safe schools:

Antara Ganguli

Director, UNGEI

Victoria Egbetayo

Lead, Global Public Policy, Advocacy & Partnerships, GPE Secretariat

Asimawu Tahiru

GPE Youth Leader (Ghana)

Kanga Rasi

Africa Campaign Manager, Brave Movement

Anisie Byukusenge

Programmes assistant Francophone countries, Purposeful

Ashlee Burnett

Coordinator, Transform Education

Sharing stories of impact

How can we tackle the lack of representation for children, young people and survivors outside of binary gender norms?

We all know the importance of centering survivors and listening to their stories, but we must have a cultural change as much as we want to have effective policy change, because one can't happen without the other. It’s the only way we can actually have a sustainable future where all of us are safe.

This SRGBV brief sets out clear and specific recommendations for governments to urgently prioritize and implement so that all schools are safe places for all students whatever their gender identity, gender expression and/or sexual orientation. Youth and survivor leaders' message is clear: now is the time for action.