About us
Safe to Learn is a global initiative of 16 partners working to end violence in, around, and through schools.
In a UNICEF poll with over one million responses from over 160 countries, 69% of children and young people said they had felt afraid of violence in or around their schools
Violence in and around schools costs the world an estimated $11 trillion in lost lifetime earnings. Beyond the staggering economic toll, the human cost is even greater — millions of children around the world experience bullying, corporal punishment, sexual violence, and emotional abuse in places where they should feel safest: their schools. Young people are not staying silent. Across countries and contexts, youth are demanding urgent action. In a recent global survey by UNICEF and Gallup (2021), 1 in 2 young people said that violence is a major concern in their school or community. And they’re calling for solutions — not tomorrow, but today.
Safe to Learn was created in direct response to this call. It draws inspiration from the #ENDviolence Youth Manifesto, drafted by more than 100 young people from across the world, which demands that global leaders protect children from violence in and through schools. Youth called for safe, inclusive learning environments, accountability from decision-makers, and stronger laws and policies — and the Safe to Learn coalition is working to turn those demands into reality.
Ending violence in schools is important to me because bullying happens around the world, in every country.
Muhd Saiful Ikhwan bin Musa, 21
Schools are not just places of learning — they are key entry points for wider violence prevention. When students experience safety, respect, and inclusion in school, they are more likely to build healthy relationships, reject violence in other parts of their lives, and grow into empowered changemakers.
Education should be a force for transformation in every child’s life. It offers stability, protection, and the tools to shape a better future—even amid violence, conflict, and crisis. It can challenge harmful norms, foster inclusion, and drive social and climate progress.
But for millions of children, that promise is broken. When schools are unsafe, learning stops. Violence in and around schools harms children’s well-being, brain development, and ability to thrive—undermining education’s true potential.
Half of students aged 13 to 15 worldwide (around 150 million) have experienced peer violence or bullying within the last year.
Half of all school children aged 6–17 (793 million) live in countries where corporal punishment is not prohibited in schools.
There were over 5,000 physical attacks on education and cases of military use of schools and universities reported between 2020 and 2021.
Not all children experience violence in the same way, and some children are at a particularly higher risk of violence, for example due to their age, disability status, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender. Girls are more likely to experience emotional and sexual violence, while boys are more likely to experience corporal punishment and physical violence. Children who do not conform to gender norms or stereotypes are particularly at risk of violence and bullying.
Approximately 60 million girls are sexually assaulted on their way to school.
129.2 million girls around the world are out of school.
LGBTQI+ students experience school violence and bullying at a rate between three and five times higher than their non-LGBTQI+ peers.
Girls and young women with disabilities face up to 10 times more gender-based violence than those without disabilities.