The right to be safe in education

The present report is submitted to the Human Rights Council pursuant to the Council resolutions 8/4 and 53/7. The Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Farida Shaheed, addresses the “right to be safe in education”, as part of the right to education. 

The Special Rapporteur proposes to define the right to be safe in education as the right of learners, educators and non-teaching staff to be protected from any violation of their physical, sexual or psycho-emotional integrity, as well as from practices harming or endangering healthy relationships within and outside the educational environment and the free expression of identities, in all educational spaces and processes, including digital ones. Safety entails the ability of all persons to enjoy and exercise their human rights in all aspects of education, without discrimination, fear or reprisal. 

The Special Rapporteur makes a number of recommendations to address challenges threatening safety in education, from a right to education perspective. She also recommends an all-encompassing approach.

Publication date: 16 June 2025

Language(s): Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish