Sexual Exploitation in Schools, Africa

Sexual exploitation in African schools has become so widespread that children have come up with their own terms to refer to sexual relations with their teachers. From ‘Sexually Transmitted Grades’ to ‘BF’, or bordel fatigue, which refers to exhaustion from multiple sexual activities with teachers, this slang hints at the prevalence of exploitation in Africa’s learning environments.

The lexis of abuse was discovered during research for Plan International’s (PI) latest report, ‘Learn Without Fear,’ part of the organisation’s global campaign to end violence in schools. According to the report, research in Uganda found that eight per cent of 16 and 17 year-olds had had sex with their teachers. In South Africa, at least one-third of all child rapes are by school staff. In a survey of ten villages in Benin, 34 per cent of children confirmed sexual violence in their schools.

While boys usually suffer more violent – and possibly deadly – corporal punishment at the hands of their teachers than their female classmates, sexual harassment and exploitation appear to be overwhelmingly carried out against girls. The report found girls are vulnerable to attacks not only from teachers and other care givers, but also from male students, either at school or on the journey to or from school.

From WOW.gm

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There are only 3 days left to bid on our fabulous auction items on Charity Folks! Items include vacations in Colorado, Cape Cod, and the Hamptons, walk-on roles on Nickelodeon shows, meetings with TV and film executives, and tickets to late night talk shows and awards shows! Bidding will close on October 15 at 3pm.

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Free the Children

Free The Children is the world’s largest network of children helping children through education, with more than one million youth involved in our innovative education and development programs in 45 countries. Founded in 1995 by international child rights activist Craig Kielburger, Free The Children has a proven track record of success. The organization has received the World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child (also known as the Children’s Nobel Prize), the Human Rights Award from the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations, and has formed successful partnerships with leading school boards and Oprah’s Angel Network.

Free The Children has built more than 500 schools around the world and has reached more than one million young people through outreach in North America.

To learn more please click here.

Children in Servitude, Haiti

Restaveks, are the thousands of young Haitian children handed over by their poor parents to better-off families, most of whom are struggling themselves. The term restaveks literally means “stay with,” and that is what the children do with their hosts, working as domestic servants in exchange for a roof over their head, some leftover food and, supposedly, the ability to go to school.

In practice, though, the restaveks are easy prey for exploitation. Human rights advocates say they are beaten, sexually abused and frequently denied access to education, since many host families believe that schooling will only make them less obedient. Recent storms, according to Unicef, added 300,000 Haitian children to the Restavek populace.

–from gnn.tv

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Taz Tagore and Adam Bucko, Brooklyn, New York, United States

Taz Tagore and Adam Bucko founded the Reciprocity Foundation to enable homeless and high-risk youth and young adults to permanently exit the social services system and start meaningful, sustainable careers in the Creativity Economy (e.g. fashion, design, marketing, PR). The Reciprocity Foundation aims to build a national network of programs to enable homeless youth to enroll in college, secure hands-on work experiences and build a professional network in their field of interest. Currently, their work is focused on the thousands of homeless youth in New York City; in the future, the Reciprocity Foundation plans to expand into cities such Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle and Austin.

Tagore and Bucko have both experienced life under authoritarian governments in East Africa and Poland, respectively, and witnessed the damage it can cause to personal development. Since then, they have focused their careers on helping individuals achieve their full potential. Previously, Bucko led programs for homeless children and youth in India and America and Tagire focused on teaching creativity and entrepreneurship tools to business leaders and homeless youth. Adam earned a BA and MA from St. John’s University. Taz received a BS from Queen’s University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

To learn more, please visit www.reciprocityfoundation.org.