Ei-iE

In 2021-22, Education International (EI), with the technical support of Gender at Work (G@W) and financial contribution from the National Education Association (NEA, USA) implemented a nine-month learning cycle to build further momentum among education unions in Africa to take action to end School-Related Gender-Based Violence (SRGBV).

This initiative built on the previous skills, experience and commitment gained by EI member organisations in the Africa region, and the EI Africa Regional Office as part of the ‘ Education Unions Take Action to End SRGBV’ programme (2016-2019). As the pandemic was severely impacting learners, teachers and their organizations around the world, EI and its member unions asked themselves:

What will it take for education union leaders in Africa to use online approaches for strengthening the work of addressing SRGBV in the time of COVID?

The initiative sought both to enable participants to update their understanding of how SRGBV was affecting their members and learners in the context of school closures and reopenings and to enhance the skills of union leaders to identify new strategies to address these challenges, particularly through the use of online platforms and encounters.

This report shares the main results, lessons learned and ideas for future action that emerged from this series of webinars. The content of the report comes entirely from the statements, insights and commitments made by the participants themselves. The initiative produced detailed reports after each of the 15 online encounters, which offer a wealth of further detail. This report provides an overview and a sampling of these rich discussions.