The role of comprehensive sexuality education in combatting gender-based violence
This piece was authored by Duduetsang Mmeti who is a Senior Communications Manager at Ibis Reproductive Health’s Johannesburg, South Africa office.
Every year since 2008, from November 25 to December 10, the UNITE to End Violence against Women initiative leads the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence campaign to draw attention to human rights violations experienced by women, girls, and children and the need to eradicate sexual violence worldwide. This year’s theme, “UNITE! Invest to prevent violence against women and girls” provides an entry to advocacy for combatting sexual violence and abuse by equipping children, young people, and caregivers with tools and educational resources that can help them navigate unsafe or abusive situations and prevent future violence. AMAZE is one programme that is providing such resources in the Africa region.
Sexual violence is an unfortunate reality that many children and young people in Africa face on a daily basis. According to an Oxfam study, over 60% of men in South Africa who have forced women or girls into sex did so for the first time between the ages of 10 and 19. This suggests that many young boys in South Africa are living in a society that is already driving them to be abusers by the time they are adults.
In West and Central Africa, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that since the age of 15, nearly one in three teenage girls have been beaten or hit, and one in 10 raped or sexually abused. Those affected may be unable to recognize their experiences as sexual abuse and as a result cannot report it or are not believed when they do.
These statistics serve as a stark reminder for the urgent need to protect children and young people from harm. Education is vital in ensuring that every child can one day meaningfully engage in society. Part of that educational underpinning must include comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) for children, so that they can be equipped with resources that help them understand their rights and navigate unsafe situations if they arise.
The eradication of sexual violence requires multiple interventions, especially to prevent young boys from engaging in gender-based violence, and to protect young girls from experiencing such violence.
Tackling the layers sexual and gender-based violence
The stark reality that perpetrators of sexual violence could have potentially engaged in, or experienced abusive behavior early on in their childhood adds to the complexities that come with tackling abuse more meaningfully.
It is even more disheartening to note that places that are meant to be safe havens for children, such as schools and homes, are not impervious to violence and abuse. The prevention of sexual abuse and the promotion of personal safety for children is therefore a shared responsibility. It is imperative for all parties involved, including parents, caregivers, teachers, law enforcement, health care agencies, and the media to take an active and collaborative role in preventing and addressing abuse when it occurs.
Why educating children is crucial, and the role of AMAZE
Many children who have experienced abuse are unable to recognize violence or abuse, or struggle to report it due to feelings of shame and stigma. Sometimes it could be due to a lack of sexuality and health literacy. Even when children do report abuse, they may be met with disbelief from parents or guardians who struggle with the idea that the perpetrator could be a respectable person within their family or community.
Access to CSE for young people and adults can be one way to combat these issues. AMAZE is an initiative that is committed to providing young people with the CSE resources they need to thrive. AMAZE’s online platform offers medically accurate, age-appropriate, affirming, and honest sexuality education that is accessible to all. It also offers parents and educators talking guides and tools to facilitate discussions with their children.
A CSE practitioner in Namibia Helena Nangombe heads an organisation called Young Women Empowerment Network (YWEN). Helena conducts sexuality education workshops around her community in Namibia, carrying a flash stick with AMAZE videos to use when educating young children on CSE. She has dedicated her efforts to equip children from rural areas, whom she believes remain excluded from accessing CSE and suffer the most from child abuse. According to Helena, many girls in Namibia become victims of rape and other forms of abuse where perpetrators roam communities freely, cases go uninvestigated as children are not believed, or children themselves are unable to articulate abuse when they experience it.
Ibis Reproductive Health’s Vice President of Africa Programs, Tshego Bessenaar, says the AMAZE programme teaches children about personal safety and how to identify and respond to unsafe situations through educational videos. “The online animations aim to equip children to protect themselves and seek help when they need it. By educating children on the various forms of abuse, as AMAZE does, we empower them to be mindful of their own safety and create a safer environment for them to grow and thrive. This approach not only improves young people’s health literacy but also positively impacts their lives by helping them become well-informed about their environment, bodies, rights, and the true meaning of total empowerment.”
Although studies show that children who are equipped with CSE are able to make informed decisions about their bodies and surroundings, it is important to note that the provision of CSE is not a panacea to combating child abuse. An impactful response to child abuse should be multi layered and require all stakeholders, including religious institutions, justice and correctional services, schools, health centres, corporations, media, government, policy makers and civil society, to enact meaningful and deliberate responses to this problem.
What children need to know to protect themselves from abuse
- They have the right to say “No”
- The importance of consent and personal boundaries
- Safe touch versus unsafe touch
- How to access open communication channels to report suspicious or harmful activity
- How to access nearby services in case of danger (e.g. clinic, police, shelters)
