Violence, visible or not, surrounds us and affects us, adults and children, especially the most vulnerable.
Millions of boys and girls around the planet are victims of child marriage, early pregnancy, child labor, trafficking, slavery or another of the many faces of violence.
They are not even aware that what happens to them is wrong, that it should not be like this, because it is something normalized in their context.
Although the
Convention on the Rights of the Child
, ratified by 196 States, says that they must be protected, which is their right, this right has been stolen from them.
Every year, 12 million girls are forced into marriage.
Currently, 160 million boys and girls work, of which half do so in jobs that put their lives at risk.
There are 2.5 million people identified as victims of trafficking, although it is estimated that for each one of them there are 20 more that we do not know about.
Half of these victims are under 18 years old.
At least one in eight boys and girls worldwide has suffered sexual abuse before turning 18, and one in 20 girls between the ages of 15 and 19 has been forced into sexual relations.
We could continue giving data and more data, which would show only the tip of the iceberg of violence against children.
Today, International Education Day, we must remember that education is the best tool to reverse this situation.
More information
Child labor is combated with education
Being able to go to school and access equitable and quality education are key factors that keep children away from violence.
While children are in the classroom learning and training, they are more aware of their capabilities, their rights, and that they can have a better future.
They do not work at school, nor are the girls captured by trafficking networks or married to men older than them who impregnate them and force them to become mothers at 14 years old, when they are still children.
Schools are, in general, a safe place where children are protected.
However, violence always finds cracks to sneak through and sometimes enters classrooms.
In Spain, the latest data from the PISA report shows that 16% of 15-year-old students are victims of bullying at some point during the month.
Worldwide, a third of children and adolescents suffer from
bullying
, a percentage that reaches half on the African continent (48.2%) and the Middle East (41.1%) according to UNESCO.
Violence by adults towards students is also present through corporal punishment.
It is legally prohibited in educational centers in 132 countries, but is still allowed as a punitive and corrective method in 63 countries.
Between 2020 and 2021 there were more than 5,000 attacks on schools and universities, including military use of facilities.
Education and being able to go to school is one of the first things to be lost when there are wars or natural disasters and one of the last to be recovered.
We must work so that these cracks disappear.
First of all, networking between schools, the community or neighborhood, families and governments is key for both schools and the environment that surrounds them to be a safe space.
This implies that legislation punishes violence against boys and girls while promoting good treatment of children.
The training of both teachers and other agents involved in education is another of the bases that support a safe school.
If adults do not know that children have the right to study or that hitting them is wrong, they will continue to perpetuate the violation of the rights they are suffering.
It is not only about training, but also about learning to listen actively.
Children have the right to be heard and to have their opinions taken into account in matters that directly affect them.
We talk about listening, not hearing.
That they can open up, explain their concerns without fear, know that we will help them if they need us, also within the school.
Additionally, a school must be a safe facility.
That is, in the event of war, schools cannot be targets of attack.
Nor does it have to have remote or inaccessible places and corners where attacks can be committed without anyone seeing it.
All these advances will not be possible without the support of the competent authorities, who do not make the necessary economic investment.
Education has a financing deficit of more than 90 billion euros, according to UNESCO calculations.
Pilar Orenes
is general director of the childhood and education NGO Educo.