Exploring Strategies for Addressing Sexual Violence among Students in Selected Secondary Schools of Mzimba District in Malawi

Angella Lungu¹ , George Julius Babune² , Issa Haji Ziddy³

1. Dept. of Educational Foundation, Instruction and Leadership (DEFIL), State University of Zanzibar, Tanzania.
2. Dept. of Arts and Social Sciences, Mwalimu Nyerere Memorial Academy, Zanzibar, Tanzania.
3. Dept. of Educational Foundation, Instruction and Leadership (DEFIL), State University of Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Section:Research Paper, Product Type: Journal-Paper
Vol.9 , Issue.11 , pp.26-33, Nov-2023

Online published on Nov 30, 2023

Copyright © Angella Lungu, George Julius Babune, Issa Haji Ziddy . This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
 

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Abstract :
Addressing sexual violence has become a major focus of educational research due to the devastating consequences it has on students in schools. Implementing effective preventive measures can help schools deal with sexual violence and provide a safe environment for all students. This study explored strategies for addressing sexual violence among students in secondary schools in Mzimba district, Malawi. A qualitative approach was used to collect data from a total of 53 respondents. The study population was comprised of teachers, students, deputy head teachers, and head teachers. Strategies for addressing sexual violence were revealed through six unstructured focus group discussions, five interviews and a documentary analysis. Through thematic analysis, guidance and counselling, sexual education, code of ethics for students, safe school environment, students` involvement, stakeholders` involvement, training for teachers and teachers` code of conduct. Through pairwise ranking with teachers, it was determined that guidance and counselling were the most effective strategies. Socioecological theory was used to understand the strategies employed in schools to address sexual violence among students. The study, therefore, concludes that addressing sexual violence among students in secondary schools is possible by effectively using various strategies at once. In order to maintain uniformity and effectively manage sexual violence in all secondary schools, the government should create a policy prohibiting any form of sexual violence in schools.

Key-Words / Index Term :
Addressing, Codes of ethics, Guidance and counselling, Sexual education, Sexual violence, Strategies

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