(February 3, 2017) The Executive Director of the Women and Social Affairs Unit of the Ministry of Education provided a training of trainers to stakeholders to strengthen their capacity to prevent and respond to sexual violence in schools and the surrounding area.

The Head of the Unit, Ms. Mehretekristos Tamiru, who attended the forum, noted that a joint prevention and response to sexual violence in schools and the surrounding area is being carried out and called for the active participation of stakeholders to enhance this work.

The aim of the training was to create a conducive environment for women and children to effectively pursue their education by freeing their schools and their surroundings from sexual violence and to create a capacity to respond promptly to sexual violence that occurs.

Ms. Mehrtekristos added that the training will help raise awareness among stakeholders so that women and children do not drop out of school, continue their education without being harassed, and are not exposed to early marriage and other harmful traditional practices. The training was attended by gender coordinators and principals from the Ministry of Education, regional and city administration education offices, and selected schools nationwide.