47% of Primary School Pupils Exposed to School-Related Gender-Based Violence – YcDEI
A report by a non-governmental organisation, Youth Care Development and Empowerment Initiative (YcDEI), has revealed that about 47 per cent of primary school pupils have been exposed to school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV).
The report was presented by the principal investigator and executive director of the organisation, Professor Adefunke Ekine, who highlighted the prevalence of the menace and its impact on pupils in primary schools across Nigeria. Professor Ekine explained that school-related gender-based violence is not an abstract concept but a daily reality for many children, noting that it includes bullying, harassment, emotional abuse and other harmful practices occurring within and around school environments.
She noted that such acts negatively affect pupils’ academic performance, school attendance, mental health and overall development, stressing that the issue goes beyond discipline and should be treated as a major child protection and education quality concern. According to her, when children do not feel safe in school, their ability to learn and develop properly is greatly affected, thereby undermining efforts to improve learning outcomes.
Professor Ekine explained that over the past five years, the Youth Care Development and Empowerment Initiative has conducted several studies to examine the prevalence of SRGBV in primary schools across the country.
She said a study conducted in 2020 and funded by the Ford Foundation explored the prevalence and risk factors of SRGBV among pupils in public primary schools in Lagos, Oyo and Ogun States in the South-West; Edo State in the South-South; as well as Kwara State and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, in the North-Central zone.
The study revealed that about 47 per cent of pupils had experienced one form of school-related gender-based violence or another, a situation she described as alarming and requiring urgent attention from relevant stakeholders.
Professor Ekine added that a follow-up study funded by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) in 2023 also examined the prevalence and predisposing factors of SRGBV in public and private primary schools in Osun and Ekiti States in the South-West; Delta and Rivers States in the South-South; as well as Kogi and Benue States in the North-Central region.
To address the challenge, she recommended a two-pronged intervention approach targeting both parents and teachers, noting that under a pilot Randomised Control Trial funded by the Fund for Innovation in Development, 136 teachers were trained while 824 pupils from 20 schools were educated on their rights, how to recognise inappropriate behaviour and the importance of breaking the culture of silence surrounding abuse.
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