Child Protection is only strategic way to combat deep rooted social issues, Nilofar Bakhtiar

Islamabad - (Nasir Abbas): The approach of transforming education system to integrate solutions for prevention and mitigation of emerging issues of Gender-Based Violence. Islamabad : In response to the issues of Gender-Based Violence and gender disparity in education, Rozan in collaboration with the Elementary and Secondary Education Department, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and SPO launched a comprehensive project titled 'Gender Mainstreaming & GBV for human capital investment project (KP-HCIP)' with the aims of mitigating GBV and violence against children in 1000 schools in 13 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Seminar on Transforming Education, Emerging Issues of Gender-Based Violence and Child Protection. The seminar was attended by reps from different Government departments, civil society, local community, school management and students from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad. Objective of the project is to create a safe learning environment for children and to reach 1000 schools, conducting comprehensive training sessions with, school teachers, representatives of Parent Teacher Councils (PTCs), Village Network Forums (VNFs), and Village Education Committees (VECs). These sessions will mainly focus on addressing issues of Gender Based Violence, Violence Against Children, Sexual Harassment, and Sexual Exploitation and Abuse with sensitivity and efficiency. These training will empower the 1000 GBV Focal Persons to effectively address GBV, VAC, SH, and SEA, ensuring the implementation of the code of conduct, Grievance and Referral Mechanism. Chief Guest of the event, Ms. Nilofar Bakhtiar Chairperson National Commission on the Status of Women while addressing the seminar said, “Let's begin by recognizing the context we are addressing—the widespread gender disparities and the issues of gender-based violence and child protection. Statistics are alarming---according to International and national reports every third woman faces violence and a child is abused every two hours. This is also a fact that reported cases are just a tip of the ice berg. So the project that has been launched today is a direct response to these challenges". She further said that the collaboration between the Government, education department, CSOs like Rozan, SPO, and the World Bank signals a commitment to a multi-faceted approach. This approach aims to not only address gender disparities and GBV but also to integrate solutions within our educational institutions; aiming to mitigate issues of violence against children and gender mainstreaming in 1000 schools in 13 districts of KP. She expressed that the seminar carried a pertinent significance to engage the relevant stakeholders and to seek their input and commitments to provide a safer environment to children in school settings. She said that the expertise of key stakeholders to promote gender equality and violence prevention, brought a critical perspective to the project and their strengths in social mobilization were adding insight into creating a sustainable change. Further, the involvement of the International organizations in it underscored the global importance of this initiative and recognized education as a key driver of progress.