Safe Learning Model

All children require a safe space to learn and develop. Unfortunately, both physical and psychological aggression and gender biases are prevalent in far too many schools. Concern is working to address school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) in education programmes across Liberia, Sierra Leone, Niger, Somalia and Malawi. We aim to reduce violence and improve methods for responding to violence, as well as addressing attitudes and influences both within and outside of school, from local to national level. We are also going one step further with the Safe Learning Model in Sierra Leone – a pioneering multi-million euro, five-year programme, funded by Irish Aid. The model was developed to ensure a holistic approach to education and bring together interventions that address SRGBV within a comprehensive education programme. The aim is to gather data and design a blueprint for an effective safe learning model which could be used by the Government of Sierra Leone and contextualised for different countries. Our "working assumption" for the programme is: children’s educational progress (specifically literacy learning outcomes) will be enhanced when they live in communities where there is more support for gender equality and children's well-being. Run in partnership with UCD School of Education and involving close to 30,000 children in 100 communities (of whom 3,000 will be tracked), it is the first ever large-scale research project to explore the link between school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) and literacy.