USAID, UNICEF Partner to Stop Gender-Based Violence in Schools

USAID and UNICEF are partnering to combat school-related gender-based violence at all levels.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are partnering to support the newly formed Global Partners’ Working Group on School-related Gender-based Violence.

Through a $400,000, two-year grant, USAID will work with UNICEF to combat school-related gender-based violence at all levels. By working to defeat this barrier to girls’ education, the program will enable more girls to contribute to their families and societies, a critical step toward ending extreme poverty, USAID said in an October 8 press release.

“Reducing school-related gender-based violence is a high priority for USAID in all school systems where we work around the world,” said Eric Postel, USAID’s assistant to the administrator for Africa.

Co-hosted by the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the working group includes 30 of the leading agencies and institutions promoting girls’ education and gender equality. At the national and international levels, the working group will develop and disseminate messages on key policy and programming issues to support collaboration and mobilize resources that will increase the scale and quality of the response.