Sightsavers Logo
Research centre
  • Home
  • About us
  • Research approach
  • Research studies and publications
  • Evidence gap maps
Join in:
  • Join in: Facebook
  • Join in: Twitter
  • Join in: Instagram
  • Join in: LinkedIn
  • Join in: YouTube
  • Global
  • Close search bar
    Donate
    • Home
    • About us
    • Research approach
    • Research studies and publications
    • Evidence gap maps
    Research study

    Safely at school: reducing risks of school-related gender-based violence for children with disabilities in Sierra Leone

    On this page

    • Main objectives
    • Summary
    On this page
    • Main objectives
    • Summary

    Main objectives

    Working in four school communities in Karene District, Sierra Leone, this project has articulated experiences, concerns and needs of girls and boys with disabilities regarding school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV). Children’s perspectives, together with inputs from parents, teachers and other stakeholders, have informed the co-development of a disability-inclusive SRGBV reduction plan in each of the four communities.

    Key project learnings:

    • By focusing on the voices of children with disabilities, this study has highlighted the clear, strong links between SRGBV and persistent disability stigma and discrimination. Children with disabilities encounter multiple forms of SRGBV, and their experiences are both gendered, and linked to the particular nature of their disability
    • Weak reporting mechanisms, and limited redress or support for those experiencing SRGBV, was a consistent challenge across all four school-communities
    • In each school-community, community members, including school leadership and children with disabilities, have worked together to develop disability-inclusive SRGBV response action plans to address challenges highlighted by the study. Key areas of focus have included addressing stigma and discrimination, along with harmful cultural beliefs and practices, strengthening mechanisms for reporting and addressing SRGBV, and reducing children’s exposure to risks such as speeding vehicles or overgrown bushes on the way to and from schools
    • Although relevant policy and legislation exists, enforcement is limited, and there are some gaps. Addressing these challenges and strengthening inter-ministerial cooperation in this area will be essential

    Summary

    In Sierra Leone, high levels of SRGBV are a profound challenge, driven by deep-rooted social and economic inequalities. Girls and boys with disabilities are at particularly high risk of experiencing SRGBV, and there has previously been little research evidence documenting their experiences, concerns and needs in relation to SRGBV. As input from children with disabilities is crucial to design effective disability-inclusive policies and interventions, this study used community-based participatory action research methods to centre the voices of these children in working towards co-development of disability-inclusive SRGBV response action plans in each participating community.

    Funded by the Sexual Violence Research Initiative, the study has been implemented in collaboration with two organisations of people with disabilities, the African Youth With Disabilities Network, Sierra Leone and Concern for the Development of Disabled Women and Children with Disabilities. Additionally, in each participating community, two youths with disabilities have joined the study team as Young Researchers with disabilities. Read our blog to learn more about the study team and our methods. The active participation of people with disabilities is a core element of this study and we have seen clearly that their lived experiences have strengthened the research and ensured its relevance to children’s lives.

    Study activities have consisted of participatory focus group discussions, community mapping and photovoice with children with disabilities, and focus group discussions with parents, teachers, community leaders and other stakeholders. These were followed by a validation and participatory action workshop in each community, where participants reviewed and refined preliminary findings, and collaboratively developed a community-specific disability-inclusive SRGBV reduction plan.

    Provisional findings have been shared with key stakeholders in Karene District, as well as in Freetown. Preparation of study outputs and planning for dissemination activities is now underway.

    Related tags

    Inclusive education
    Sierra Leone
    Study details
    Start date
    1 May 2024
    Finish date
    30 April 2025
    Main contact
    Steven Kaindaneh
    Technical Support Inclusive Education Research
    skaindaneh@sightsavers.org
    Partners
    • African Youths with Disability Network
    • Concern for the Development of Disabled Women and Children
    Funders
    Sexual Violence Research Initiative Research Grant 2024
    Countries
    Sierra Leone
    Themes/conditions
    Inclusive education
    Study details
    Start date
    1 May 2024
    Finish date
    30 April 2025
    Main contact
    Steven Kaindaneh
    Technical Support Inclusive Education Research
    skaindaneh@sightsavers.org
    Partners
    • African Youths with Disability Network
    • Concern for the Development of Disabled Women and Children
    Funders
    Sexual Violence Research Initiative Research Grant 2024
    Countries
    Sierra Leone
    Themes/conditions
    Inclusive education

    Related research studies

    Research study

    Tusambilile Chapamo inclusive education

    Research study

    DARE-RC: Classroom, family and community-related experiences of children with disabilities in mainstream schools in Pakistan

    Research study

    DARE-RC: Climate change hazards, risks and vulnerabilities assessment in schools in Pakistan: piloting a localised participatory assessment

    Sightsavers Logo
    Research centre
    • Join in:
    • Join in: Facebook
    • Join in: X
    • Join in: Instagram
    • Join in: LinkedIn
    • Join in: YouTube

    Protecting sight, fighting disease and promoting equality for all

  • Accessibility
  • Sightsavers homepage
  • Our policies
  • Media centre
  • Contact us
  • Jobs
  • Cookies and privacy Terms and conditions Modern slavery statement Safeguarding

    © 2025 by Sightsavers, Inc., Business Address for all correspondence: One Boston Place, Suite 2600, Boston, MA 02108.

    Our website uses cookies

    To make sure you have a great experience on our site, we’d like your consent to use cookies. These will collect anonymous statistics to personalise your experience.

    Manage preferences

    You have the option to enable non-essential cookies, which will help us enhance your experience and improve our website.

    Essential cookiesAlways on

    These enable our site to work correctly, for example by storing page settings. You can disable these by changing your browser settings, but some parts of our website will not work as expected.

    Analytics cookies

    To improve our website, we’d like to collect anonymous data about how you use the site, such as which pages you read, the device you’re using, and whether your visit includes a donation. This is completely anonymous, and is never used to profile individual visitors.

    Advertising cookies

    To raise awareness about our work, we’d like to show you Sightsavers adverts as you browse the web. By accepting these cookies, our advertising partners may use anonymous information to show you our adverts on other websites you visit. If you do not enable advertising cookies, you will still see adverts on other websites, but they may be less relevant to you. For info, see the Google Ads privacy policy.