A "safe space" is a safe place where girls will regularly meet in a group, so that they are able to build friendships with other girls in the group. These safe spaces will also help the girls build trusting friendships with their mentors and will be able to turn to the mentors when they have a problem. Safe space meetings will also help girls reduce their vulnerability to sexual harassment and violence.
One critical piece of preventing gender based violence among adolescent girls is create and support safes spaces for girls, within the school setting, where they can build social, human, and economic assets – learning basic health and financial education, as well as an understanding of their rights and an increase in their self-esteem. The Population Council is helping to support, monitor, and evaluate the Safe Spaces cluster within the TAAAC Coalition. This cluster, also including CAMFED, FAWEZA, YWCA, and PPAZ, will work in six Lusaka schools to implement these programs for girls, as well as involving mentors, teachers, and parents. The core of this program will involve girls meeting weekly in groups, facilitated by a mentor. Mentors running safe spaces will have a better understanding of girls’ rights and issues and will be able to address their concerns, provide appropriate referrals, and implement strategies to build girls’ assets;
Population Council collected data on teachers and students according to their sex in the Safe Space schools. These schools include: Munali Girls High School, Chazanga Basic School, Kamwala High School, Chongwe Basic School and Kamulanga High School.
Next Population council guided the safe spaces on how to recruit most vulnerable girls in the safe space program by using a checklist questionnaire, which includes questions on age, grade, living situation, if their parents are alive, if they have ever being absent from school and why , and if their community is violent or not. Organizations used this information to select the most vulnerable girls at each school to participate in the program.
During the recruitment of the girls the safe space cluster also organized sensitization meetings with the teachers and community members to share with them about the program. The Safe Space program was very welcomed and they pledged their support.
Population Council, in consultation with the safe spaces cluster, compiled a curriculum with topics on human rights, reproductive health and contraceptives, relationships, life skills, HIV/AIDS and STIs, gender and gender based violence, financial education, and substance abuse. This curriculum will be used both to train the group mentors and for use during the weekly sessions with the girls in the 5 schools.
Adolescent Girls Capacity Building and Program Design Workshop
From March 1st – 4th, the Population Council hosted a workshop on Adolescent Girls Capacity Building and Program Design. The purpose of the workshop was to help Zambian NGOs and CBOs to understand the best practices of adolescent girls programs and work with them to develop high quality program plans to reach vulnerable adolescent girls within their own programs. Some groups already had girl-only programming and were looking to strengthen or expand their work; some groups were developing a girl-only program component for the first time. The workshop included sessions on asset building, savings and financial education, working with parents/communities, recruitment, monitoring and evaluation, fundraising, and more.
Among the 15 organizations who participated were the four organizations from the Safe Spaces Cluster – YWCA Lusaka, CAMFED, PPAZ, and FAWEZA. These four organizations used the opportunity to work closely with girls programming experts to develop their program design for the safe spaces program that will be carried out under the TAAAC activities.
Upcoming event: 2nd week of September 2010 - training of mentors in the 5 schools where the safe spaces program is being implemented.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
TAAAC on Joy FM Talk Show
The directive banning male teachers from conducting tuition for girls from their homes which was issued by the Minister of Education, Hon. Dora Siliya at the ZAMWA Journalists Media Training Workshop on August 10, 2010 has generated a lot of interest in the country. The workshop is part of the many activities being funded by the UN Trust Fund under the project, "Our Girls, Our Future, Building Synergy to end Violence against Adolescent Girls in Zambia."
In issuing the directive, Hon. Siliya (pictured above) noted some male teachers were using home tuitions to lure girls into sexual activities. This directive has been given extensive media coverage in both the print and electronic media, and responses from the cross section of our society to these media houses have continued to pour in. On August 11th, the TAAAC Coordinator/Consultant, Shupe Makashinyi featured on a radio talk show hosted by Emmanuel Mulenga of Joy FM Radio (106.9 MHz). Other people who were featured on the programme were Ms. Catherine Chinunda, Deputy General Secretary of the Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNUT), and Mr. Erick Mwale, Director, Research and Workers Education, representing the Secondary School Teachers Union of Zambia (SESTUZ). The three interviewees discussed the subject of sexual abuse against adolescent girls and the Minister of Education's directive banning home tuition.
All the three interviewees welcomed the Minister of Education's directive and underscored the significant role it will play in scaling down incidences of sexual abuse of adolescent girls in schools. Although the teachers' union representatives downplayed the prevalence of this problem among teachers, Mrs. Makashinyi maintained that what is obtaining on the ground is cause for worry.
She highlighted some of the comprehensive sexual and health related services that are provided to young people by coalition members such as the PPAZ. She encouraged parents and guardians of school-attending children to immediately report cases of sexual abuse to the police and also seek immediate help for the victim of abuse attention at the One Stop Centre based at the University Teaching Hospital. She called for the formulation and legally enforceable code of conduct for teachers in order to make our schools safe environments for the girl child and restrain would be offenders.
It is gratifying to note that the Zambian government is recognising and acknowledging that cases of sexual violence against girls is also being perpetrated by people to whom parents entrust their children for the better part of the day. TAAAC Zambia will continue to play its critical role of advocacy and influence policy and legal reform in order to obtain justice for victims of sexual abuse and safeguard the welfare of our children.
In issuing the directive, Hon. Siliya (pictured above) noted some male teachers were using home tuitions to lure girls into sexual activities. This directive has been given extensive media coverage in both the print and electronic media, and responses from the cross section of our society to these media houses have continued to pour in. On August 11th, the TAAAC Coordinator/Consultant, Shupe Makashinyi featured on a radio talk show hosted by Emmanuel Mulenga of Joy FM Radio (106.9 MHz). Other people who were featured on the programme were Ms. Catherine Chinunda, Deputy General Secretary of the Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNUT), and Mr. Erick Mwale, Director, Research and Workers Education, representing the Secondary School Teachers Union of Zambia (SESTUZ). The three interviewees discussed the subject of sexual abuse against adolescent girls and the Minister of Education's directive banning home tuition.
All the three interviewees welcomed the Minister of Education's directive and underscored the significant role it will play in scaling down incidences of sexual abuse of adolescent girls in schools. Although the teachers' union representatives downplayed the prevalence of this problem among teachers, Mrs. Makashinyi maintained that what is obtaining on the ground is cause for worry.
She highlighted some of the comprehensive sexual and health related services that are provided to young people by coalition members such as the PPAZ. She encouraged parents and guardians of school-attending children to immediately report cases of sexual abuse to the police and also seek immediate help for the victim of abuse attention at the One Stop Centre based at the University Teaching Hospital. She called for the formulation and legally enforceable code of conduct for teachers in order to make our schools safe environments for the girl child and restrain would be offenders.
It is gratifying to note that the Zambian government is recognising and acknowledging that cases of sexual violence against girls is also being perpetrated by people to whom parents entrust their children for the better part of the day. TAAAC Zambia will continue to play its critical role of advocacy and influence policy and legal reform in order to obtain justice for victims of sexual abuse and safeguard the welfare of our children.
Monday, August 16, 2010
ZAMWA Journalists' Media Training
On 9th August, 2010, journalists drawn from nearly all the media houses in Lusaka converged at Cosmic Lodge for a Media Training on Sexual Violence Against Girls. The training was being conducted by the Zambia Media Women Association (ZAMWA). ZAMWA is one of the TAAAC coalition members in the media cluster. The training ran from 9th to 11th August, 2010.
The training is part of the UN Trust Fund activities under the "Our Girls, Our Future, Building Synergy to end Violence against Adolescent Girls in Zambia" project. The focus of the training was to enhance awareness-raising and attention in the media to issues related to sexual violence against adolescent girls in Zambia. Some of the topics covered in the training included an overview of Sexual Violence Against Girls (SVAG) which was presented by Chali Selisho from Population Council; Exploring the National and Regional Legal Instruments in Addressing SVAG and SVAG: Challenges and Opportunities.
The training was graced by the Minister of Education, Honorable Dora Siliya, (see picture below) who gave a directive to the Provincial Education Officers and District Education Board Secretaries that no male teacher was to conduct tuition for girls from their homes as they were using this to lure girls into sexual activities. She said no male teacher was to ask girls into their homes regardless of the favor.
It is the Coalition's hope that this directive will be stringently enforced and turn our schools into safer environments for the girls.
The TAAAC Coordinator, Shupe C. Makashinyi, in her closing remarks on the last day of the training, called on the journalists to scale up the efforts of prodding the consciences of the public and raising awareness of this problem by highlighting the damaging effects that sexual violence against girls has on adolescent girls.
Below is the full text of Shupe's closing remarks:
Closing Remarks on the ZAMWA Journalists’ Training, August 11th, 2010
Shupe C. Makashinyi (TAAAC Coordinator)
It is my rare honour and privilege to address you on the final day of what I believe has been a very successful and informative training programme organised by ZAMWA, one of the implementing partners in the Coalition. As media practitioners, I know you are aware of your key and strategic role in shaping public perceptions and opinions about significant social issues affecting society. It is widely accepted that what we know about, think about and believe about what happens in the world, outside of personal first-hand experience, is shaped by how these events are reported in newspapers and communicated through the medium of radio, television and the internet. The public learns about how much importance to attach to a topic on the basis of the emphasis placed on it in the news. And you provide those clues to the general public about the salience of the topics in the daily news. This may be through a lead story on the front, large headlines, the opening story on the newscast, length of time devoted to the story, etc. These cues repeated day after day effectively communicate the importance of each topic.
One of the urgent topics that require constant and consistent media coverage is that of sexual violence against adolescent girls in our schools. Sexual violence is a gross violation of children’s rights, and in the words of the former UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman, it is “a moral and ethical outrage and an assault on the world’s conscience.” This problem, among other things, leads to lost childhoods, abandoned education, physical and emotional problems, the spread of HIV, and an often irrevocable loss of dignity and self-esteem.
While it is generally known that sexual violence against girls is a global problem, very limited information and statistics on the extent of this problem are available in developing countries such as Zambia. And that’s the more reason why the UN Trust Fund was quick to fund this project in Zambia through the key implementing partner, Equality Now. And one of the crucial components of this project is enhanced awareness and attention in the media to issues related to sexual violence against adolescent girls.
This training was designed to increase the capacity of journalists to report on issues of sexual violence against girls. But as you know, reporting alone is not enough. Giving of facts and statistics alone is not sufficient. There is a need for a deliberate agenda that seeks to prod the conscience of the public and raise awareness of the problem by highlighting the damaging effects that this problem has on adolescent girls. The public needs to be sensitised to the reality of the problem and its telling consequences, not only on the victims, but also the terrible loss on the part of the perpetrators once apprehended and tried in the courts of law.
WAY FORWARD
1. There is need for improved synergy in reaching the goals of this project.
2. There is need for more media coverage of the activities of other implementing partners in the Coalition.
3. There is need for effective use of the Internet. The Coalition has set up a Blog (www.taaaczambia.blogspot.com) which we need to keep active all the time. Plans are underway to set up a website so we will be counting on you scribes to play the critical role of advocacy by contributing articles and news content which will be posted on the blog and website.
In conclusion, I would like to thank the following: ZAMWA for a splendid job in organising this training; I also wish to thank our facilitators who have done a commendable job, and of course I shouldn’t forget to thank all of you our valued participants for taking time off your busy and demanding profession to attend this training. I will be failing in my duties if I did not acknowledge and thank the UN Trust Fund for providing the funds for this project, and Equality Now who helped secure these funds and is the Lead Implementing Agency.
It is my hope that this training will prove to be a milestone in engendering new and positive attitudes and opinions, and lasting implications on behaviour change, legal reform and ultimately make our society a safe place for the girl child. God bless you.
The training is part of the UN Trust Fund activities under the "Our Girls, Our Future, Building Synergy to end Violence against Adolescent Girls in Zambia" project. The focus of the training was to enhance awareness-raising and attention in the media to issues related to sexual violence against adolescent girls in Zambia. Some of the topics covered in the training included an overview of Sexual Violence Against Girls (SVAG) which was presented by Chali Selisho from Population Council; Exploring the National and Regional Legal Instruments in Addressing SVAG and SVAG: Challenges and Opportunities.
The training was graced by the Minister of Education, Honorable Dora Siliya, (see picture below) who gave a directive to the Provincial Education Officers and District Education Board Secretaries that no male teacher was to conduct tuition for girls from their homes as they were using this to lure girls into sexual activities. She said no male teacher was to ask girls into their homes regardless of the favor.
This is a directive I am making to all PEOs and DEBs, that no tuition should be conducted in teachers' homes. I will make sure all school managers adhere to this directive. Some male teachers sexually abuse several female pupils when they go for these tuitions in homes because these young girls are vulnerable.
It is the Coalition's hope that this directive will be stringently enforced and turn our schools into safer environments for the girls.
The TAAAC Coordinator, Shupe C. Makashinyi, in her closing remarks on the last day of the training, called on the journalists to scale up the efforts of prodding the consciences of the public and raising awareness of this problem by highlighting the damaging effects that sexual violence against girls has on adolescent girls.
Below is the full text of Shupe's closing remarks:
Closing Remarks on the ZAMWA Journalists’ Training, August 11th, 2010
Shupe C. Makashinyi (TAAAC Coordinator)
It is my rare honour and privilege to address you on the final day of what I believe has been a very successful and informative training programme organised by ZAMWA, one of the implementing partners in the Coalition. As media practitioners, I know you are aware of your key and strategic role in shaping public perceptions and opinions about significant social issues affecting society. It is widely accepted that what we know about, think about and believe about what happens in the world, outside of personal first-hand experience, is shaped by how these events are reported in newspapers and communicated through the medium of radio, television and the internet. The public learns about how much importance to attach to a topic on the basis of the emphasis placed on it in the news. And you provide those clues to the general public about the salience of the topics in the daily news. This may be through a lead story on the front, large headlines, the opening story on the newscast, length of time devoted to the story, etc. These cues repeated day after day effectively communicate the importance of each topic.
One of the urgent topics that require constant and consistent media coverage is that of sexual violence against adolescent girls in our schools. Sexual violence is a gross violation of children’s rights, and in the words of the former UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman, it is “a moral and ethical outrage and an assault on the world’s conscience.” This problem, among other things, leads to lost childhoods, abandoned education, physical and emotional problems, the spread of HIV, and an often irrevocable loss of dignity and self-esteem.
While it is generally known that sexual violence against girls is a global problem, very limited information and statistics on the extent of this problem are available in developing countries such as Zambia. And that’s the more reason why the UN Trust Fund was quick to fund this project in Zambia through the key implementing partner, Equality Now. And one of the crucial components of this project is enhanced awareness and attention in the media to issues related to sexual violence against adolescent girls.
This training was designed to increase the capacity of journalists to report on issues of sexual violence against girls. But as you know, reporting alone is not enough. Giving of facts and statistics alone is not sufficient. There is a need for a deliberate agenda that seeks to prod the conscience of the public and raise awareness of the problem by highlighting the damaging effects that this problem has on adolescent girls. The public needs to be sensitised to the reality of the problem and its telling consequences, not only on the victims, but also the terrible loss on the part of the perpetrators once apprehended and tried in the courts of law.
WAY FORWARD
1. There is need for improved synergy in reaching the goals of this project.
2. There is need for more media coverage of the activities of other implementing partners in the Coalition.
3. There is need for effective use of the Internet. The Coalition has set up a Blog (www.taaaczambia.blogspot.com) which we need to keep active all the time. Plans are underway to set up a website so we will be counting on you scribes to play the critical role of advocacy by contributing articles and news content which will be posted on the blog and website.
In conclusion, I would like to thank the following: ZAMWA for a splendid job in organising this training; I also wish to thank our facilitators who have done a commendable job, and of course I shouldn’t forget to thank all of you our valued participants for taking time off your busy and demanding profession to attend this training. I will be failing in my duties if I did not acknowledge and thank the UN Trust Fund for providing the funds for this project, and Equality Now who helped secure these funds and is the Lead Implementing Agency.
It is my hope that this training will prove to be a milestone in engendering new and positive attitudes and opinions, and lasting implications on behaviour change, legal reform and ultimately make our society a safe place for the girl child. God bless you.
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