Education has a transformative role in children’s lives and in society as a whole. Children’s learning experience should always be positive and safe.
While every child has the right to safety and security that makes learning possible and fulfilling, an estimated 246 million girls and boys experience violence in and around schools – on the way to school, on school grounds, and within classrooms.
Violence against children takes many forms – be it physical, sexual, or emotional – online and offline. This has a long-lasting impact on children’s lives and the future of their communities and societies. It hinders learning – it can decrease self-esteem, reduce school attendance, and lower academic achievements. Intersectional barriers such as gender, race, age, disability status or sexual identity often prevents children especially from marginalized groups, from attending school and gaining education altogether. In some cases, this can increase the risk of child marriage, child labour, and inter-generational poverty.
COVID-19 has heightened a pre-existing child rights crisis and deeply exacerbated the global learning crisis by forcing children out of schools. It has made millions of children more vulnerable to violence in many settings – at home, in the community and online.
When children cannot learn safely, society pays a heavy toll. The World Bank estimates that violence in and around schools amounts to an estimated $11 trillion in lost lifetime earnings globally.
Change is possible – and we must act NOW
Learning and safety can no longer be thought of as separate entities. As decision makers around the world look to respond to the compounding crises of the post-pandemic, conflict, climate and poverty, safe education must be at the heart of our efforts and a significant determinant of ending the learning crisis is the absence of violence in and around schools.
Safe to Learn is a global initiative dedicated to ending violence in and through schools. We believe that safe learning presents an opportunity to unlock the multiple wins for children. Ending violence means improving learning outcomes, better leveraging education and health investments, shifting social and gender norms and behaviors, and breaking intergenerational cycles of violence.
Backed by a powerful coalition of 16 partners representing civil society, United Nations, donors, global partnerships, and the private sector, Safe to Learn provides an opportunity for change so that all children can learn safely, no matter where, or how, they may be learning.
To harness the power of education in preventing and responding to violence against children in schools, Safe to Learn transitioned from being hosted by the End Violence Partnership to UNICEF in April 2023. Safe to Learn remains a coalition of partners with a Safe to Learn Secretariat, which sits within UNICEF. The Secretariat coordinates the coalition of partners and plays a key role in the development and implementation of activities, including work through the taskforces.
With Safe to Learn’s and UNICEF's combined expertise, existing programming at country and regional levels, and presence and partnerships in countries, together with the expertise and reach of the Safe to Learn partners, the organization plays a significant role in the development, delivery, and success of enabling safer learning environments for children everywhere.
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