As the world marks the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, Beyond the Classroom Foundation has called on government and education authorities to include mental health support in school safety plans, especially for girls who have experienced or are at risk of abuse.
Speaking on the importance of creating safer schools and communities for girls, the Executive Director of Beyond the Classroom Foundation, Raquel Daniel, said conversations around girls’ safety must go beyond physical protection alone.
According to her, many girls who have experienced abuse, violence, neglect, or unsafe home environments are still showing up in school every day, but carrying pain that many adults may not see.
“Sometimes, a girl is in class, writing notes and smiling, but inside she is dealing with fear, shame, confusion, depression, or trauma,” Daniel said. “If we are serious about protecting girls, then we must also care about their mental health.”
Speaking further, Daniel said the work is also personal for her, as some of her own experiences growing up, including attempted sexual abuse by a relative, living in unsafe conditions as a teenager, and dealing with depression afterwards, have shaped the way she listens to girls and designs BTCF’s programmes around safety, dignity, healing, and support.
“This work is personal for me,” she said. “There are things I went through as a young girl that I did not even have the words for at the time. So when I sit with girls today, I understand that many of them are carrying pain quietly. Some are living through abuse, some are unsafe at home, some are dealing with shame, and some are just trying to survive what adults around them have failed to protect them from. That is why our work at BTCF is not just about empowerment. It is about safety, dignity, healing, and making sure girls are not left alone with what they have experienced.”
Daniel noted that through the Foundation’s work with girls in schools, communities, and IDP camps, it has become clear that many children are carrying experiences they do not yet have the language to explain.
She said some girls are dealing with unsafe homes, pressure from older men, abuse, shame, teenage pregnancy, child marriage, school dropout, and emotional distress, yet the systems around them are not always prepared to respond with care.
“At Beyond the Classroom Foundation, we have learned that girls do not just need advice. They need safe people. They need adults who can listen without judging them. They need teachers who can notice when something is wrong and know how to respond properly,” she said.
She explained that this is why the Foundation developed its Safer Girls Approach, which focuses on making the spaces around girls safer.
“Our Safer Girls Approach is built on a simple belief: girls are safer when homes are safer, communities are safer, classrooms are safer, and the girls themselves are supported to know their rights and build confidence,” Daniel said.
Daniel stressed that a safer classroom is not only a place where learning happens, but also a place where children feel protected, listened to, and supported.
“A safer classroom is where a teacher can notice when a child suddenly becomes quiet. It is where a girl is not blamed for what happened to her. It is where a disclosure is handled with care. It is where children know there is at least one adult who will listen and act responsibly,” she added.
The Foundation called on government, especially education authorities, to invest in mental health and trauma-informed training for teachers, school counsellors, and community-based child protection actors.
According to Daniel, many teachers want to help, but they have not been trained to identify signs of abuse, trauma, depression, fear, withdrawal, or emotional distress.
“We cannot keep expecting teachers to support children without giving them the right tools,” she said. “Teachers are often the first adults outside the home who can notice when a child is struggling. But they need training. They need guidance. They need to know what to say, what not to say, when to refer, and how to protect a child without causing more harm.”
Beyond the Classroom Foundation also urged government to ensure that school safety policies are not only about infrastructure, discipline, or security, but also about the emotional wellbeing of children.
Daniel said violence does not only affect the body. It also affects a child’s confidence, learning, behaviour, relationships, and sense of self-worth.
“If a girl has faced abuse and nobody supports her emotionally, we may see her as stubborn, quiet, distracted, or unserious, without knowing that she is struggling inside,” she said. “This is why mental health must be part of child protection.”
She added that the 16 Days of Activism should remind stakeholders that girls’ safety must be practical, not just campaign language.
“We cannot keep telling girls to speak up if the adults around them are not trained to listen. We cannot keep telling girls to be strong without giving them support to heal. We cannot keep asking children to report abuse if schools and communities do not know how to respond safely,” Daniel said.
Beyond the Classroom Foundation said it will continue to work with schools, parents, boys, teachers, and community leaders to build safer environments for girls.
The Foundation also called for stronger collaboration between government, schools, civil society organisations, parents, and communities to ensure that girls who have experienced abuse are not blamed, silenced, or ignored.
“Our message this 16 Days of Activism is simple,” Daniel said. “Believe children. Protect girls. Train teachers. Support mental health. And build schools and communities where girls are not only told to be safe, but are actually protected.”
She added that every girl deserves to learn in an environment where her body, mind, dignity, and future are protected.
“Safer girls must also mean safer minds, safer classrooms, safer homes, and safer communities,” she said. “That is the kind of protection our girls deserve.”
