Adolescent girls in Zambia face frequent sexual violence and harassment at school, researchers from Cornell Law School's Avon Global Center for Women and Justice, the Cornell International Human Rights Clinic, and Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA)-Zambia said in a report released Oct. 18.

The report was issued by the Avon Center's Third Annual Women and Justice Conference, which linked Cornell Law School to the U.S. Embassy in Lusaka, Zambia, via videoconference.

The report, "They Are Destroying Our Futures: Sexual Violence Against Girls in Zambia's Schools," is based on interviews conducted in Lusaka Province, Zambia, with students at seven public schools, teachers, school administrators, magistrates, police officers, representatives of civil society organizations and others. Of the 105 girls who were interviewed for the report, 54 percent said that they had personally experienced sexual violence or harassment by a teacher, student or man they encountered while traveling to or from school, while 84 percent reported that they had experienced or knew of classmates who had experienced such abuse.

"Children in Zambia and throughout the world deserve a chance to grow up and pursue an education free from the threat of sexual violence," says Elizabeth Brundige, executive director of Cornell' Avon Global Center, who co-led the study. "Sexual violence against girls in schools is a devastating human rights problem globally, as recent debates over sexual abuse in U.S. schools make clear."

Most cases of sexual violence at school never come to light because of the multiple obstacles to redress that girls confront.

The report calls on the Zambian government to strengthen its prevention and response efforts to protect girls from sexual violence in schools and provide them with a meaningful remedy where it occurs. According to Maimbo Ziela, national coordinator for WLSA-Zambia: "Inadequate responses at many levels have contributed to a culture of silence where girls do not report, perpetrators act with impunity, and the cycle of violence continues. The Zambian government has recently taken some promising measures to break this cycle, and we hope that our report and the recommendations it offers will contribute to these efforts."

For example, in 2010, the Ministry of Education issued an order that prohibited teachers from conducting private tutoring sessions in their homes. The government, along with civil society, established girls' clubs and programs that focus on empowering girls to protect themselves from sexual violence. In addition, "safe spaces" have been established in schools where girls can learn their rights.

The Zambian government also adapted the Anti-Gender Based Violence and Education Act of 2011 that encourages more reporting and facilitates access to justice for girls who experience sexual violence. Teachers and administrators are now required to inform girls who experience sexual violence of their rights and remedies, including the right to file a complaint and seek protection.

Conference keynote speaker Rashida Manjoo, United Nations special rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, stressed that sensitivity to tradition and the details of implementation were essential for effective reforms and emphasized the importance of critical analysis in evaluating progress.

Joining Brundige at the conference were Gertrude Chawatama, judge of the High Court of Zambia and commissioner on the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission of Kenya; Cornell Law Professor Cynthia Grant Bowman; and Virginia M. Kendall, U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. The conference also convened 15 judges and magistrates from southern Africa and the United States to share stories of the challenges they face, as well as accounts of progress and innovation.