Project HOPE focuses on ending childhood violence through schools in Namibia
23rd January 2024Powered by data, an upcoming national initiative aims to create safer schools in order to develop safer communities
The 2019 Violence Against Children and Youth Survey (VACS) in Namibia showed high levels of emotional, sexual, and physical violence against children. It also showed acute levels of violence in a setting that should be safe for all children to learn - schools.
As part of the post-survey Data-to-Action process, the Namibian Ministry of Gender and Ministry of Education partnered with Project HOPE Namibia to create programming to reduce violence in and through schools.
"Schools can be a chance to breach violence at home and at school. Schools are a critical entry point for identifying and assisting vulnerable children, adolescents and youth." Matheus Shiindi, Technical Evaluation Manager at Project Hope
Project Hope Namibia is an African nonprofit welfare organization that works in close collaboration with the Namibian Government and other development partners to improve health outcomes in Namibia. The USAID Health Evaluation and Applied Research Development (HEARD) Implementation Science Collective and University Research Co., LLC (URC) supported the school-based post-VACS learning efforts.
The goal of the initiative is to build the capacity of teachers to effectively prevent and respond to violence and self-harm by developing and piloting an electronic Case Management System (eCMS) for responding to violence against children, including gender-based violence.
“We know that violence against children can be prevented using the correct methods,” Robert Haihambo, a coordinator with Project HOPE. “Namibia has a high school attendance rate, which means that the school environment is an excellent place for community-wide initiatives to combat violence.”
What the Namibia VAC Survey says about violence in schools in Namibia
Violence in schools is a significant problem in Namibia. The 2019 Namibia Violence Against Children and Youth Survey indicated that classmates or “school mates” are the most common perpetrators of the most recent incident of sexual violence:
Perpetrators of most recent incidents of sexual violence among 13-17-year-olds who experienced sexual violence in the past 12 months
| Perpetrators | Female (13 - 17) | Male (13 – 17) |
|---|---|---|
| Classmate or schoolmate | 26.6% | 15.4% |
| Intimate partner | 23.2% | Unreliable estimate |
| Neighbour | 10.1% | 13.8% |
| Authority figure | <0.1% | 5.2% |
| Friend | 19.6% | 23.7% |
| Family member | 19.1% | 23% |
Note: Sexual violence includes unwanted touching, attempted sex, physically forced sex and pressurized sex.
VACS data also shows that schools are the most common locations for sexual violence incidences for both females and males.
Females (13 – 17): School, university, or college (36.6%), the participant’s home (24.4%), the perpetrator’s home (19.2%), & on a road or street (18.2%)
Males (13 – 17): School, university, or college (66.7%)
According to Robert Haihambo, a coordinator with Project HOPE, his team’s research shows that the most feared places at school were the classrooms with 44.5% followed by the principal’s office with 24.1%, followed by school corridors & school toilets.
Emotional violence inflicted by peers is the most common form of violence at 39.3% of girls and 30.0% of boys. Physical violence is also common, especially among adolescents 13 to 17, with more than one out of four females (28.5%) and three out of ten males (31.3%) reporting physical violence in the past 12 months.
Project Hope’s plan for ending violence through schools
Twenty-eight schools across the country participated in the Project Hope pilot project, which included a baseline study on violence in schools from the perspective of teachers, students, and parents.
One challenge the team identified is changing norms around how Namibians define violence. Many adults feel schools are safe, but don’t realize there has been a cultural shift around policies like avoiding corporal punishment.
“We realized that certain forms of violence are normalized, " said Haihambo. “For example, in our research, we found that although bullying is rampant in schools, it is rarely regarded as a form of violence.”
Almost 500 teachers were trained on recognizing and responding to violence, including bullying, and each of the schools developed and implemented a school-based action plan.
“We realized that certain forms of violence are normalized. For example, in our research, we found that although bullying is rampant in schools, it is rarely regarded as a form of violence.”
Robert Haihambo, Project HOPE
Finally, an eCMS was developed to report school-based violence. It is awaiting further governmental approvals before it can be fully operationalized.
“We hope that through this work, the government will prioritize ending violence in schools,” said Shiindi. “Through collaboration between the Ministry of Gender and Ministry of Education, we can create a sustainable, systematic way of handling violence referrals in educational settings.”
For more information about Project Hope Namibia, visit projecthope.org. Learn more about the data-to-action movement to end violence against children in Namibia by visiting the Together for Girls Namibia country page.
Health Evaluation and Applied Research Development (HEARD) is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under cooperative agreement number AID-OAA-A-17-00002. The project team includes prime recipient, University Research Co., LLC (URC) and sub-recipient organizations. This product is made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this product are the sole responsibility of Together for Girls and Lifeline Childline and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
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