Vulnerable and At-Risk Children
© Md. Rabiul Islam Rony, Bangladesh
Who are these children?
They are those affected by HIV/AIDS. Many people under the age of 25 are now stricken by the pandemic. Girls are hit harder and younger than boys for physical, socio-economic, and cultural reasons. Infected girls face greater stigma and rejection than boys, and are more likely to drop out of school.
They are those denied an education. Over 110 million of the world’s children, two-thirds of them girls, are not in school due to a variety of reasons, some of which include: homelessness, the need to work, illness or hunger, lack of birth registration, disabilities or special needs, pregnancy, poverty, traditional gender roles that restrict access to and retention in school, those from minority cultures or who do not speak the language of instruction, or those caught in the grip of conflict situations or natural disasters.
They are those affected by violence, either within the home or in coming to, going home from, or being in school. At least one in every three woman is a survivor of some form of gender-based violence, most often by some one in her own family. [Johns Hopkins Global Report, 1999]. Girls between 13 and 18 years of age constitute the largest group in the sex industry. It is estimated that around 500,000 girls below 18 are victims of trafficking each year.
Solutions to keep vulnerable and at risk children in school, to help them cope with their situation now, and to keep them from being further affected is therefore a main task for all education systems. Some key interventions include:
- Outreach to locate excluded and at-risk girls and boys and get them into a safe, secure, and productive school environment;
- Policy support and technical assistance to schools and communities to increase access for children who are hardest to reach or suffer most from discrimination;
- National and local programmes to eliminate cultural, social, and economic barriers to the education of girls and boys;
- Support for the development and implementation of specific actions to reduce the gender gap, while increasing overall enrolment and attendance;
- Assistance in preparing for and responding to conflict and other crises so that affected girls and boys have access to a quality basic education in safe, stable, and gender-sensitive environments; and
- Promoting quality in education as a means to encourage access.
| Title |
Date |
Source |
File Type |
| Resources for gender equality and education in the context of HIV | 2004 |
PDF |
|
2003 |
Sean Devine/Vibeke Jensen |
Word File |
|
| Learning
about HIV/AIDS in schools. Does a gender equality approach make a difference? |
2003 |
PDF |
|
| Unsafe Schools: A Literature Review of School-Related Gender-Based Violence | 2003 |
PDF |
|
| 2002 |
HTML |
||
HIV/AIDS and Education: A Gender Perspective - Tips and Tools |
2002 |
PDF File |
|
| Seminar
on |
2002 |
Word File |
|
| Gender And Post-Literacy, A Non-Formal Education Approach To Hiv/Aids Prevention | 2001 |
PDF |
|
| Colloquium
on HIV/AIDS and Girls’ Education |
2000 |
PDF |