Gender-Based Violence in Schools and Girls' Education: Experimental Evidence from Mozambique

Sofia Amaral (), Aixa Garcia-Ramos (), Selim Gulesci (), Sarita Oré (), Alejandra Ramos () and Maria Micaela Sviatschi ()
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Sofia Amaral: World Bank
Aixa Garcia-Ramos: University of Passau
Selim Gulesci: Trinity College Dublin
Sarita Oré: Teachers College, Columbia University
Alejandra Ramos: Trinity College Dublin
Maria Micaela Sviatschi: Princeton University

No tep1024, Economic Papers from Trinity College Dublin, Economics Department

Abstract: Gender-based violence (GBV) at schools is a pervasive problem that affects millions of adolescent girls worldwide. In partnership with the Ministry of Education in Mozambique, we developed an intervention to increase the capacity of key school personnel to address GBV and to improve students' awareness as well as proactive behaviors. To understand the role of GBV on girls' education, we randomized not only exposure to the intervention but also whether the student component was targeted to girls only, boys only, or both. Our findings indicate a reduction in sexual violence by teachers and school staff against girls, regardless of the targeted gender group, providing evidence of the role of improving the capacity of key school personnel to deter perpetrators. Using administrative records, we also find that in schools where the intervention encouraged proactive behavior by girls, there was an increase in their school enrollment, largely due to an increased propensity for GBV reporting by victims. Our findings suggest that effectively mitigating violence to improve girls' schooling requires a dual approach: deterring potential perpetrators and fostering a proactive stance among victims, such as increased reporting.

Keywords: Gender-Based Violence; Schooling; Adolescents (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I25 J16 O12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 61 pages
Date: 2024-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp and nep-ure
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