Schoolgirls abused and exploited by teachers in Senegal says report

Schoolgirls in Senegal are being abused, harassed and sexually exploited, according to a new report.

Human Rights Watch said teenage girls have been forced into sex in exchange for good grades, food, mobile phones and new clothes.

The investigation found that teachers were also abusing their authority by having sex with students in exchange for money.

Human Rights Watch said Senegal needs to urgently protect teenage girls from abuse and hold abusive teachers to account.

The report –聽It国产视频檚 Not Normal国产视频�: Sexual Exploitation, Harassment and Abuse in Secondary Schools聽–聽documents abuses against female students in secondary school, mostly by teachers and school officials.聽

Human Rights Watch conducted interviews with over 160 girls and young women.聽They also spoke to parents, education experts, psychologists, local activists and government officials, in four regions of the West African country.

The scale of sexual abuse against students is largely unknown because taboos and social stigmas have silenced many girls.聽

But research by Human Rights Watch and other bodies suggests school-related sexual violence is a serious problem. The organisation聽documented 10 cases of sexual exploitation and abuses in the聽context of 国产视频渞elationships国产视频� between teachers and students.

Most of the girls were 15 and 16 years old when the abuse took place.聽

Cases highlighted included that of Fanta, now 23, from a village in S茅dhiou region.聽She had a 国产视频渞elationship国产视频� with her 30-year-old teacher for nearly two years.

It started when she was 16 years old and resulted in a pregnancy that ended her education. She told HRW: 国产视频淚 was in his class 国产视频� it was always hidden.

“The teacher had given me an聽exercise to complete at his house. After that, we were like this [together]. We would meet at his house. Some teachers knew about it, but they said nothing. I felt ashamed in class 国产视频� my classmates knew I was going out with him.国产视频�

In a middle school in S茅dhiou, at least two girls talked about cases of teachers who had聽made students pregnant.聽

A茂cha, 15, who is in the final year of middle school, told Human Rights Watch: 国产视频淲e have a lot of problems as girls 国产视频� there are teachers who approach young girls.国产视频澛�

She said that a teacher had 国产视频渁 relationship国产视频� with one of her classmates.聽

A茂cha said:聽国产视频淎 teacher is in prison because of that 国产视频� since last year, 2016. He went out with a girl in secret. She was 16 years old. After that, she became pregnant.聽

“He has refused to accept that it was him. When the girl had the baby [they] did a DNA test and [they] imprisoned the teacher. The girl’s parents brought a claim [against the teacher] 国产视频� The girl is not at school, she stays at home.国产视频�

Human Rights Watch acknowledged that Senegal had taken steps to expand girls国产视频� access to education.

The government has also taken some steps to tackle sexual violence and gender-based discrimination in schools.聽In 2013, it adopted a robust child protection strategy.聽

With international support, the government has also focused on reducing teenage pregnancies, including through programmes that help girls stay in secondary school.

国产视频淭o its credit, Senegal has acknowledged that sexual violence is a serious problem in its schools,国产视频� said Elin Mart铆nez, children国产视频檚 rights researcher at Human Rights Watch and author of the report.聽

国产视频淏ut many teachers are getting away with sexually exploiting and harassing their students, who tolerate sexual offences to advance in secondary school.国产视频�

The report recommended that Senegal adopts a number of measures to tackle the problem.

Schools generally lack confidential systems for reporting and many girls are reluctant to report abuse for fear that officials will shame them or not believe them.

国产视频淭he government wants girls to succeed in education,国产视频� Mart铆nez said. 国产视频淏ut it needs to end the culture of silence around abuse by teachers, encourage girls to speak out and send an unequivocal message to all education staff that it will not tolerate sexual violence against students.国产视频�