Plan surges ahead on Learn Without Fear campaign
Plan's pilot programmes to prevent school violence are now being rolled out across El Salvador
Success in El Salvador
Plan's pilot programmes to prevent school violence in El Salvador were so successful that the Minister for Education has encouraged them to be rolled-out nationally. Projects included promoting awareness of issues around sexual violence, designing child-friendly guides and the training of teachers, health professionals, community members and teenagers on sexual health issues.
The programmes are now being formally adopted nationally by health, education and justice institutions, with assistance from non-governmental organisations. These projects are vitally important to the children of El Salvador as sexual abuse is a serious issue.
Advocating for child helplines
Helplines are important for children who need immediate rescue and safety or just need someone to talk to about issues that are worrying them.
In Egypt, Plan has reached a co-operation agreement with The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood to operate a national child helpline, with agreed systems for referring children.
In Kenya, Plan worked closely with the government and Childline Kenya to establish 116 - a free 24 hour helpline for children. In 2008 the number of calls to 116 increased by 100% with the most common forms of violence being reported as neglect, physical abuse and sexual violence.
Plan is also developing a global relationship with Child Helpline International (CHI) to improve and collect data from helplines across the world. This information will be used to inform our lobbying to stop violence in schools at national and international levels.
India blog reaching global audience
Plan India has launched a Learn Without Fear online blog encouraging the general public and activists to discuss issues related to ending school violence: www.learnwithoutfear.in
The blog highlights school violence issues by featuring illustrations, videos and cartoon strips all created by children through the Young Hearts project in India. The aim is to interact with teachers, parents and members of the public to raise awareness of the issues and to encourage a volunteer base for the campaign.
Plan Philippines research
A survey of children in the Philippines found that 6 out of 10 children had experienced some form of violence at school. Read the authoritative survey carried out by Plan.
