African education unions determined to eradicate school-related gender-based violence
Several Education International affiliates in Africa reaffirmed their commitment to put an end to school-related gender-based violence during a peer learning training workshop.
The event was organised in the framework of the second phase of the EI/UNGEI/Gender at Work Project “Education Unions Take Action to Stop School-Related Gender-Based Violence (SRGBV)”. Fifteen change team members from GTU (Gambia), SLTU (Sierra Leone) and Education International’s African regional office (EIRAF) participated in the meeting, which was held in Banjul, Gambia, from 25-29 June.
The purpose of the workshop was to enable change team members to share their understanding and action plans to create SRGBV-free and safe schools. It was facilitated by Nina Benjamin from Gender at Work, a consultancy firm for sustainable professional and personal development, specialised in the three mutually reinforcing themes: superdiversity, gender equality and wellbeing at work.
According to reports from the change teams, unions have made significant steps in the fight against SRGBV through the adoption of adequate policies and resolutions. And initial steps are now being made to implement the decisions, as was explained by SLTU President Mohamed Salieu Bangura and GTU General Secretary Antoinette Corr.
“I am confident that the involvement of the EI Regional office staff to form a change team will ensure that SRGBV will be tackled in a concerted manner, by sensitising, training, and planning for affiliates in the rest of the region,” EIRAF Anais Dayamba acknowledged.
