Promises alone can’t protect children. Nearly one year on from the first-ever Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, the question remains: are countries delivering real change?
At the 2024 Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children in Bogotá, 48 countries pledged to take action to end violence in and around schools. To reflect on how countries are progressing, WHO, UNESCO, UNICEF, and the Safe to Learn Coalition convened a digital dialogue with nearly 300 policy makers, practitioners and young people.
“We left Bogotá with momentum that today’s conversation carries forward. We need to turn commitments into sustained change, until every child can walk through the school gate with one certainty: Here I am safe. Here I can learn.”
- Pia Rebello Britto, UNICEF Global Director, Education and Adolescent Development
Why safe schools matter
The scale of the problem is sobering:
- 1 in 3 students experience bullying or peer violence.
- 1 in 6 adolescents face cyberbullying.
Behind these numbers are real children whose futures are compromised when schools are not safe. As Ana-Sofia, a 17-year-old, Child Delegate from Colombia reminded leaders:
“Leaders should do whatever they can to provide funding, laws, and policies that protect children and ensure education for every child.”
Creating safe, enabling schools is not a “nice-to-have.” It is every child’s right and a pre-requisite for learning, inclusion, and well-being.
From commitments to action
Across regions, governments are beginning to translate their Bogotá pledges into practice — introducing new laws, making investments, training teachers, and strengthening child protection systems. At the Digital Dialogue, four countries shared progress;
- Jamaica is finalizing a Safe Schools Policy, backed by protocols on firearm incidents, trafficking, and substance misuse. The government has rolled out the Positive Behaviour Interventions and Support framework, with educators in more than half of schools already trained. An evaluation is underway to identify and scale the most effective interventions.
- Nigeria expanded its pledge to finance safe schools from ₦112 billion to ₦144.7 billion. A national anti-bullying policy is being integrated into teacher training, while a Safe Schools Response and Coordination Centre now provides rapid support in the case of an attack. The government has also set up gender desks in every state’s education ministry to promote girls’ education.
- Sri Lanka is moving to ban corporal punishment by end of 2025. The country has piloted a comprehensive teacher training package on positive discipline, which will be scaled nationwide. A three-year national plan, led by an inter-ministerial steering committee, is guiding reforms to ensure schools foster constructive, violence-free learning.
- Türkiye is strengthening school counselling and child protection services to ensure at risk students have the right support. Investments in digital reporting and referral systems are also making it easier for children and families to raise concerns. These efforts are reinforced by cross-government and civil society collaboration, ensuring positive behaviours are promoted and cases of violence are addressed quickly.
These examples show that countries are not standing still: pledges are being turned into policies, investments, and services that can change the culture of schools and keep children safe.
Tools and Frameworks to support change
UNESCO emphasized that meaningful progress requires coordinated, system-wide action—integrating actions to safe and enabling schools across curricula and teacher training, enforcing protective laws, and addressing gender and community norms that perpetuate acceptance of violence.
Together for Girls, on behalf of the Safe to Learn Coalition, presented the Safe to Learn technical package, which helps countries move from pledges to practice. It provides:
- A programmatic framework to guide national action.
- A benchmarking tool to track progress and accountability.
- A diagnostic tool to measure efforts at national, subnational, and school levels.
These tools equip governments and partners with the evidence, resources, and frameworks needed to scale up what works.
From commitment to protection
“A child who feels unsafe cannot learn. A school that tolerates violence cannot nurture growth. And a system that neglects well-being cannot deliver on quality or excellence.”
- Christopher Castle, UNESCO Education Director, Division for Peace and Sustainable Development
Countries are making important strides to create safe and enabling schools — from banning corporal punishment to investing in school safety. But the work is far from over.
The Bogotá pledges were a starting point. The task now is to ensure every child, everywhere, and no matter how they are learning, is safe to learn.
Listen to the recording of the Digital Dialogue.
Kristen Hansen, Safe to Learn Secretariat
