Sexual Violence In Education Settings: What We Know & Need To Know

This powerful webinar brought together global voices to spotlight the urgent need to end sexual violence in education settings. Co-hosted by the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) and the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI), the session explored how schools – spaces meant to nurture and protect – can become sites of harm, and more importantly, how they can be transformed into places of safety, healing, and equality.

Through compelling data, lived experiences, and promising practices, the panel unpacked:

The scale and drivers of sexual violence in and around schools.
Gaps between policy and practice, and the critical importance of investing in prevention, accountability, and survivor-centered approaches.
The lived realities and leadership of girls, gender-diverse youth, and survivors, and the essential role of young feminist movements.
The importance of systemic, multi-sectoral, and early interventions – from curriculum reform to teacher training to community engagement.

The conversation was grounded in the SVRI & UNGEI White Paper ‘Preventing Sexual Violence in Education Settings’, the Open Letter to the World Ministers to End Sexual Violence in Education Settings, 30-year review of the Beijing Declaration, the post-2030 education agenda, and the ongoing global movement to reclaim education as a space of joy, safety, and justice.

Speakers:

Antara Ganguli, Head of UNGEI Secretariat
Elizabeth Dartnall, Executive Director of Sexual Violence Research Initiative

Panellists:

Evelyn Letiyo- EVAW (Ending Violence Against Women) Prevention Lead at UN Women
Dr. Pia Rebello Britto, UNICEF Global Director of Education and Adolescent Development
Shamah Boulangis, Coordinator and Co-Founder of Girls Congress and Transform Education
Likho Bottoman, Deputy Director at Department of Basic Education, South Africa

Moderated by Alejandra Alejandra Ramos Gómez, Transform Education