Attachments
By Ruth Kagia, Judith Herbertson and Gabriela Smarrelli
Hon. Conrad Sackey, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education: “No child should be afraid to go to school. But for too many, violence is a daily reality. In Sierra Leone, we are making real progress on this, but data shows us that this is a huge issue in many countries. This taskforce gives us the chance to share what works, to act together, and to make safe schools the global standard, not the exception.”
Lord Ray Collins of Highbury, the UK’s Minister for Africa: “As many as a third of children experience physical violence in schools every year. And it is only when schools are safe that children can learn, grow and flourish. I am delighted to launch this taskforce to tackle this unacceptable issue. This international partnership will help ensure we can give children across the world a safe learning environment.”
The education sector is taking a leading role in ensuring schools are safe spaces—where children can learn in environments free from violence and reach their full potential.
This week, in the margins of the Education World Forum, a new ministerial taskforce on ending violence in, around and through schools was launched, led by the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and Sierra Leone, at an event supported by CGD and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). The ministerial taskforce is made up of 11 countries committed to working collaboratively to end all forms of violence against children.
The pathway to the taskforce
Momentum to end violence in, around and through schools has been steadily building. In early 2024, the FCDO, CGD, GPE, and the Good Schools Coalition, in partnership with Safe to Learn, co-hosted a Wilton Park conference to build consensus on making violence prevention an education priority. That consensus carried through to the 2024 Education World Forum, where Ministers from six African countries and Ambassadors issued a declaration to eliminate violence in schools. Later in the year, during the first Ministerial Conference on ending violence against children, the Ministers from the UK and Sierra Leone signalled their intent to formalise a taskforce to drive forward action.
This week, on May 20, the Ministerial Taskforce was officially launched. Leaders from 11 countries gathered at CGD to commit to making the prevention of violence in and around schools a priority. Co-chaired by Hon. Minister Conrad Sackey, Sierra Leone’s Minister for Basic and Senior Secondary Education, and Lord Collins of Highbury, UK Minister for Africa, Ministers from Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Nigeria, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Pakistan and the United Kingdom alongside the Ambassador from Colombia and a senior representative from Germany spoke compellingly about action already taken and plans to drive more rapid progress to protect children.
Concrete commitments to take action
The Ministerial Taskforce committed to implementing the pledges made at the first Ministerial Conference to end violence against children, encouraging the signing of the Safe to Learn Call to Action, and working together to:
- Strengthen education systems' accountability for children's safety: Country representatives emphasised the importance of the education sector in leading efforts to prevent all forms of violence against girls and boys in, around, and beyond school settings. They recognised its crucial role in shifting social norms, attitudes, and behaviours to help break the cycle of violence, and committed to ensuring education systems, school staff, parents, and the communities are accountable for protecting all learners.
- Elevate the issue on the world stage: Education Ministers and representatives committed to using their collective political weight to raise awareness, drive international momentum, and promote common narratives to prioritise eliminating violence in, around and through schools. As a first step, they pledged to advocate for the issue’s consideration at global fora, including the SDG4 High Level Steering Committee’s meeting and the World Social Summit in 2025.
- Ensure the issue of violence prevention is included in policies, laws, budgets, and plans: Taskforce members committed to integrating all forms of violence prevention and response into education sector policies, budgets, and plans—supported by cross-sectoral collaboration—and to enforcing the prohibition of corporal punishment in schools.
- Gather data and leverage evidence to make schools safer: Education Ministers and representatives highlighted the critical role of data and evidence in monitoring progress and driving change. They committed to sharing what has and hasn’t worked in their countries, and to fostering innovation grounded in evidence to prevent and effectively respond to violence. The taskforce also pledged to collaborate with partners to strengthen national data, monitoring and response systems for all forms of violence.
- Incorporate youth and civil society voices in decision-making: Civil society, youth, and survivor groups have been at the forefront of advocating for increased attention to the issue and supporting programs that reach all children affected by violence. Countries committed to supporting and encouraging civil society participation to achieve systematic change.
The Ministerial Taskforce will act as a collective driver of change. Through their leadership, governments can accelerate action and create the political conditions necessary for progress—both within their own countries and as inspiration for others to implement critical policy reforms. This taskforce complements ongoing efforts to secure safe and inclusive learning environments (including those by GPE, UNICEF’s Safe to Learn Coalition and UNESCO).
To sustain these efforts, we must create strong systems to mobilise and manage funds for this priority and translate commitments into tangible actions that make schools safe, inclusive spaces where children can thrive, learn without fear, and fully benefit from their education.
Read the declaration countries committed to here.