LONDON—Eleven countries have come together to launch a new international taskforce to tackle violence in and around schools. The taskforce will be co-chaired by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the Government of Sierra Leone.
Ministers and senior officials from Colombia, Germany, Malawi, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Tunisia, Uganda, UK, Zambia, and Zimbabwe endorsed a joint declaration committing to make violence prevention in and around schools a political priority, to share national and global solutions, and to raise the profile of school violence at international events—including the SDG4 High-Level Steering Committee and World Social Summit, later this year.
The taskforce was launched at a high-level roundtable (held in the margins of the Education World Forum), organised by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the Center for Global Development (CGD), and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE).
Hon. Conrad Sackey, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education and one of the co-chairs of the taskforce said:
“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.”
Levels of violence against children remain staggeringly high, with an estimated 246 million girls and boys experiencing violence in and around schools. CGD analysis shows that in some countries, up to 28 percent of sexual violence incidents happen in school settings, and as many as 48 percent of children are subjected to corporal punishment. And these figures likely underestimate the true scale of the problem, making it harder for policymakers to monitor progress or strengthen prevention efforts. Members of the taskforce agreed to generate better data as one of the crucial steps toward addressing all forms of violence against all children in schools.
Lord Collins of Highbury, the UK’s Minister for Africa, added:
“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.”
Countries shared examples of actions they are already taking to tackle violence in schools during the meeting. Sierra Leone, for example, has created new teacher guides and assessment tools to track and prevent violence in schools; Nigeria has allocated approximately £60 million ($75 million) to safeguarding schools over three years; Uganda has pledged to scale up use of the Good School Toolkit—an evidence-backed, step-by-step programme that helps communities shift attitudes and behaviours around violence in schools; and Sierra Leone and Uganda have publicly endorsed the Safe to Learn call to action.
Ministers also reaffirmed the importance of supporting survivors of violence, youth-led efforts and engaging with initiatives such as the School-Related Gender-Based Violence (SRGBV) Working Group.
The taskforce builds on a 2024 declaration signed at CGD by ministers from a range of African countries, and on momentum from the Ministerial Conference on Violence Against Children held in Bogotá, where 45 governments pledged to scale up safe and enabling learning environments. CGD will also host a public event featuring Minister Sackey as a speaker—Where Next for Education: Advancing Inclusive and Safe Learning for All—on Tuesday 21 May. To tune in online, register at: cgdev.org/event/where-next-education.
For more information on CGD’s work to end violence in schools, visit www.cgdev.org/endviolence.
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For high resolution images, to speak to a CGD expert on school violence or for further details on the taskforce, please contact [email protected].
