How Irish aid cuts put young African girls at risk

ON Friday last, Mary Robinson appealed to the Government not to make further aid cuts, citing the necessity of continuing to support efforts to tackle violence against women and girls in developing countries.

Last week in Malawi I heard first hand the hidden horror that many schoolchildren in developing countries face.

The pervasive nature of abuse and violence within school walls is a story that is all too familiar here at home. In poor countries, girls are the most vulnerable, often forced to have sex in exchange for good grades – a practice known as “sexual transmittable grades”.

Gender-based violence in schools in its worst form can leave girls as young as 12 pregnant, HIV positive and homeless. The extent of this abuse was uncovered in a recently published Kenyan government report which found that 12,660 girls were sexually abused by teachers over a five-year period and in some cases teachers abused as many as 20 girls in a single school before they were reported. Ensuring that schools are a safe learning environment for boys and girls is an urgent priority. Improving facilities, building separate latrines for boys and girls, involving parents in school committees, training teachers, introducing codes of conduct and holding teachers and communities accountable all work to create a safer school where children can be protected.

Concern is working with the Kenyan government in some of the poorest areas to roll out these strategies. The solutions are there, the will is there – the problem is the money to support these programmes is not.

Education is the way out of poverty, but it is notoriously underfunded. Programmes that address violence in schools get even less attention. Every child has a right to quality education in a safe school environment and protection from abuse. Now is not the time to cut aid, but to increase our work to protect these vulnerable children.

Brid Kennedy

Regional Director

Concern Worldwide

Lr Camden Street

Dublin 2