Resultados obtenidos en las encuestas realizadas a los solicitantes

As indicated in the previous section, most of the research on gender violence in educational settings comes from SSA. While drawing general conclusions from these small-scale contextual studies is problematic, there are a number of key ‘drivers’ contributing to the complexity of violence emerging in the region.

Poverty has been mentioned in the literature as one of the key contributors to gender-based violence in schools and this is evident in a number of ways (Fleischman, 2003; Luke and Kurz, 2002; USAID, 2008). A study from West Africa, for example, found that the labour of, or sexual favours, from students was seen as a compensation for teachers’ low salaries (Massart, 2007). Poverty has been shown to contribute to girls’ vulnerability, forcing them to engage in exploitative sexual relations. Whilst girls were more likely to stay out of school because of unaffordable school fees, lack of clothes and supplies, older boyfriends or teachers may offer financial support in exchange for sex (Leach et al., 2003; Teni-Atinga, 2006). In some contexts, parents appeared to encourage relations with teachers in exchange for essential goods, school fees or marriage (Leach et al., 2003). Research in Ghana, Malawi and Zimbabwe revealed that girls felt ‘trapped’ in these relationships; while they expected money and gifts from a sexual partner, love and marriage seemed to be less appealing (ibid). Girls’ vulnerability was determined by their limited experience with sexual relations and their insecurity and lack of status in relation to older boys or men. A number of studies pointed out that adolescent girls were particularly at risk for both sexual relations and HIV infection linked to it (for example, Helitzer-Allen, 1994; Vetten and Bhana, 2001). In Uganda, Hulton et al. (2004) argued that the cultural environment favoured early sexuality, male’s sexual

desires were considered ‘natural’ and condoms were rarely used, yet girls were unable to negotiate their sexuality. Girls were also found to be at risk of becoming the victims of the ‘virgin cure myth’ – the belief that sexual intercourse with a young virgin can cure the man of HIV (Jewkes et al., 2002). It was believed that the younger the virgin, the better the cure (ibid).

Much research on gender-based violence previously assumed that girls were passive victims of exploitation and violence. However, evidence has indicated that young women can also be active social agents challenging socially established gender and sexual identities (Wood et

al., 1998; Komba-Malekela and Liljestrom, 1994). Findings draw attention to female agency

in what has been termed as ‘transactional’ sexual relations among students and between teachers and students, and between young girls and ‘sugar-daddies’ (Nyanzi et al., 2000; Luke and Kurz, 2002). Researchers argue that it is often difficult to establish the extent to which girls enter into transactional relations through coercion or consent. Moreover, they point out that relations between older men and young girls are not a new phenomenon and have been common since at least the 1950’s (Niehaus, 2000).

In terms of identifying implicit gender violence in schools, a number of studies have sought to examine the link between school quality and girls’ participation (Lloyd et al., 1998; Baden

et al., 1998), but also and more importantly, the informal school environment or institutional

regimes and the part these play in perpetuating gender differentiation in education (for example, Maimbolwa-Sinyangwe and Chilangwa, 1995; Kutnick et al., 1997; Sey, 1997; Swainson et al., 1998). These studies provide evidence of gendered attitudes of teachers and students in African schools. The findings show that different tasks were allocated to female and male students in the school. Whilst girls were required to help with domestic jobs, such as cleaning classrooms, sweeping schoolyards; boys’ responsibilities were linked to their physical strength like digging holes or fetching water (Dunne and Leach, 2005; Rose, 2003). As mentioned before, sexual abuse in the context of African schools can be perpetrated by both male students and male teachers, but may also include female to female relations. The greatest threat to girls appears to come from older male students who propose love and their sexual advances which then often turn into aggressive acts (Leach et al, 2003; Leach and Mitchell, 2006). If girls rejected sexual propositions, they were under threat of assault or rape (ibid). Teachers usually demanded sexual intercourse in exchange for better grades or passing exams (Leach et al., 2003). This was found to occur at all levels from primary through

20 secondary to higher education. An example from a university in Kenya showed that girls not only accepted sexual advances for academic assistance but also for financial support (Chege, 2006). Research in Ghana, Malawi and Zimbabwe examined the abuse of junior secondary school girls by older boys, and teachers (Leach et al., 2000; Leach et al., 2003). All three educational systems were characterised by a reluctance to take action against either teachers or male pupils.

Resent research on gender abuse in Kenya, Ghana and Mozambique has also highlighted the inconsistencies in the legal systems and polices as well as unclear reporting procedures, making it difficult to report incidents of abuse, with little or no consequences for the perpetrators (Parkes and Heslop, 2011).

The above review of relevant research in the SSA region shows that the focus of much research has been on the factors contributing to gender-based abuse and shifts and changes in terms of their relative importance. With most studies focusing on violence in institutions, education institutions in particular, research has broadened to explore the dynamics and complexities of local contexts.

The notion of gendered structures of power and agency has been an important development in conceptualising violence embedded in social structures of inequality. While much research has focused on economic and gender inequalities in identifying the main ‘drivers’, a change has taken place in how girls are portrayed in sexual relations with older men – sugar daddies. These findings are particularly important for the emergence of new conceptualisations of power and agency which I will examine when looking into similar case studies.

Violence against girls is understood in different ways, leading to different forms of research and actions. In studying the complex characteristics of abuse, feminist theory and practice have been interested in the question of how inquiry is shaped by moral, social and political interests (Harding, 1987). Thus feminist researchers are concerned to view the perspective of the vulnerable people such as children, women, elderly etc. The feminist approach and the general emphasis on child consultation in programmes and interventions, have facilitated a growing recognition of the importance of giving voice to young people in research. For example, Leach and colleagues (2000; 2003), in attempting to bridge the gap between research and action, show how to use participatory research methods in addressing the issues of abuse of girls in African schools. As has been observed, these activities can help to inform adults of what is happening, and at the same time they are a means by which young people

can express their experience in ways that often cannot be easily put into words. These kinds of methodologies help young people with what Leach describes as the ‘conspiracy of silence’ (ID21, 2001: 2) around events and experiences for which there is often ‘no visual evidence’. My methodological stance in this study draws on participatory approaches to working with girls and boys. In Chapter 3 I explore the search for the right methodology and how I brought some of the ideas used by Leach and colleagues into my research (see for example, Leach et

al., 2000; Leach et al., 2003).