Teachers in Odienne trained on gender-based violence

Some 150 teachers in the Odienné, situated at 867 km northwest of Abidjan, on 28 January 2014, took part in a training session on gender-based violence (GBV) organized by the national coordination of legal actors for the fight against GBV in collaboration with the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI).

The training was aimed at informing, educating and sensitizing members of the national education corps to take an active part in the fight against GBV so that teachers can report and expose acts of violence against children in general and pupils in particular in order that legal action can be taken against perpetrators.

According to the Prosecutor of the Odienné Magistrate's Court, Victorien Ncho, violence in the school environment is of three types: Physical, sexual and psychological. "Perpetrators can be the pupils themselves or the teachers." He said the choice of participants was appropriate given that teachers are those in charge on a daily basis of the teaching of children and who have considerable influence over the school environment. These children are often the victims of sexual harassment and abuse, he said.

UNOCI Human Rights Officer Etienne Allou gave an overall picture of human rights violations with emphasis on gender-based violence especially female genital excision, forced and early marriages, and highlighted the right of the young girl to education.

A teacher of the Texaco School in Odienne, Souleymane Cissé highlighted the importance and quality of the training on GBV. "The training was important for us the teachers and allowed us to discover a number of things concerning human rights and their penal implications. At the end of this session, we can serve as resource persons and provide a link with the judiciary. It is also a moral duty for teachers to set up a platform for the fight against gender-based violence," he concluded.