Global guidance on addressing school-related gender-based violence

More than 246 million children are subjected to gender-based violence in or around schools every year. This is a violation of their human rights, and a form of gender-discrimination that has far-reaching physical, psychological and educational consequences.

Until school-related gender-based violence is eliminated in and around schools across the world, many of the ambitious targets set by the global community through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to provide safe and supportive learning environments, to end violence against children in all settings and to achieve gender equality and eliminate violence against women and girls, will not be realized.

That is where this “Global guidance on addressing school-related gender-based violence” comes in. The result of the combined expertise and leadership of UNESCO, UN Women, and other partners, this guidance will help us stand a better chance of supporting countries to end this global issue.

The “Global guidance” provides key information to governments, policy-makers, teachers, practitioners, and civil society who wish to take concrete action against school-related gender-based violence. It introduces approaches, methodologies, tools, and resources that have shown positive results in preventing and responding to school-related gender-based violence.

We are confident that this will contribute to further promote the generation of knowledge, evidence, and standards of response against this pervasive problem. With the “Global guidance” in hand, this is a key moment for all of us to ensure that school-related gender-based violence does not remain a barrier to achieving the SDGs.