How ought we to inform our teachers about gender-based violence? Identi$ing the challenges faced in integrating content around gender-based violence into classroom teaching in five primary schools in the Mitchells Plain district, Western Cape Province, South Africa

Abstract

How ought we to inform our teachers about gender-based violence? Identifying the challenges faced in integrating content around gender based violence into classroom teaching in five primary schools in the Mitchells Plain district, Western Cape Province, South AfricaGender-based violence is increasingly being identified as a critical public health issue - one which both the health and education services in South Africa need to take into consideration in their programme planning. Findings from a recent Human Rights Watch Report (2001), which investigated the extent of school-based sexual violence against girls in three provinces in South Africa, indicated that GBV was not only widespread but that there was considerable confusion amongst school officials and educators about how best to resolve the issue.tn responding to this challenge, the School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape piloted a gender-based violence teacher training model programme by training a group of 33 teachers ,from five primary schools in'Mitchells Plain, a district within theCity of 'Cape Town. Whilst the haining programme had a positive impact on participants, only six of the 33 teachers applied what they had leamt in the training progamme to their classroom settings @reyer, Kim & Schaay, 2001; Dreyer, 2002), clearly suggesting that the progamme had significant limitations.