GIRLS AND SCHOOL-RELATED GENDER BASED VIOLENCE IN AFRICA

Over the years, the disproportionate effect that gender-based violence (GBV) has on women and girls and the identified need to tackle it has gained global attention. In this paper, concentration is on a common form of GBV; School –Related Gender Based Violence (SRGBV), which the United Nations asserts as affecting millions of children and adolescents all over the world. Although schools are expected to enhance learning and personal development, every year, millions of girls worldwide are victims of SRGBV. Apart from being a human rights infringement, SRGBV considerably limits the achievement of gender parity and constrains the attainment of the sustainable development goal of quality education targeted at effective learning outcomes for girls. Studies on SRGBV against girls has been focused on specific countries, resulting in a lack of comprehensive research that examines the prevalence of this issue across various regions in Africa. This paper fills this gap and contributes to the existing scholarship on SRGBV by shedding light on the distinct forms of SRGBV which is often underestimated, experienced by primary and secondary school girls across countries in Africa. It sheds light on the unique challenges faced by these girls who have been subjected to victimization. This paper proposes intervention strategies, such as implementing high-level awareness campaigns led by governments at all levels, to effectively address this pressing issue.