Benin: Violence-free schools - fighting sexual abuse and exploitation of children

Project Objectives

The project aims at improving the protection of children in and outside of schools as well as at establishing adequate support structures for victims. Children, particularly girls, shall further be enabled to protect themselves from possible offences. Their protection shall be enhanced by politicians and civil societies, who actively engage in child protection.

Involved Groups

• 15,540 children and adolescents
• 6,120 parents
• 64 members of local committees for the protection of children
• 90 leaders of religious communities
• 30 traditional authorities
• 30 owners of video shops and internet cafés
• 20 media representatives
• 45 responsibles of governmental departments
• 95 local officials
• 60 school principals and 140 teachers
• 30 responsible persons from the telecommunication sector

Project Activities

• Awareness-raising for responsibles of different religious communities
• Awareness-raising for traditional dignitaries from 6 communities
• Awareness-raising for parents
• Creating platforms, where children can share their experiences
• Awareness-raising for journalists of radio, television and press
• Creating and realizing a media plan
• Training for 35 decentralized departments on a local level
• Training for 60 contact persons of religious communities and societies from 6 communities
• Training for 140 teachers from 20 different schools
• Advocacy measures: meeting for 15 responsibles of the governmental department on national and regional level
• Creating a hotline free of charge in the project areas
• Initiating a behavioral codex for the fight against sexual abuse in schools and other educational establishments in Benin
• Technical and logistical support for schools for realizating action plans for the protection of children
• Annual exchange of information and experiences with 60 school principals
• Annual training for local representatives of 6 communes and support with realizating their plans
• Realizating the decisions which have been made in the meeting (Oct. 2013), considering the isolation of children from their families
• 8 trainings for 20 adolescents each, who are contact persons in middle schools
• Annual trainings for 20 children each, who are contact persons in extracurricular surroundings
• Annual trainings in each commune for 9 representatives of the committee for the protection of children
• Supporting caring societies for students and trainees as well as initiatives for children who don’t attend school and children who have to work as they live isolated from their parents
• Internal training for the staff of CIPCRE-Benin

Funding

Project costs: 545,688 €

Financial Partners:

• German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
• Kinderrechte Afrika e.V. (donations)

Cover photo: Students of secondary schools in Benin set up a sign showing that they will not tolerate sexual abuse and violence at their school. KiRA and CIPCRE initiated the introduction of a code of conduct in many schools in the region of Ouémé. The Ministry of Education has now adopted a law to make a code of conduct mandatory for all educational institutions in Benin.

© Elisabeth Munsch

No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Art. 37 UN-CRC.