Safe Schools for Teens, The Philippines

What it is and how it works

Safe Schools for Teens was implemented in two public high schools in Metro Manila over two years to improve knowledge and behaviors related to identifying child sexual abuse, disclosure, and reporting among teachers and students. 

In addition, the intervention employed mindfulness techniques to improve emotional regulation to prevent peer dating violence and help adolescents recognize potentially risky situations. 

Safe Schools for Teens consisted of two phases:

• Phase 1 involved training teachers on the “4 Rs” (recognizing, recording, reporting, and referral) of child abuse and establishing a referral and support system through training to School Child Protection Committees to respond to and manage child abuse cases.
• Phase 2 involved the development and delivery of classroom curriculum modules to students aged 13-15 on the prevention and recognition of dating violence through mindfulness techniques, improving knowledge of healthy relationships, and increasing awareness and reporting of abuse.

To determine the impact of Safe Schools for Teens, the implementers used a mixed-methods evaluation, including pre- and post-test surveys, interviews, and focus groups in which 237 teachers and 1,458 students participated. The researchers also followed up on the number of child sexual abuse cases referred to the public hospital for one year after implementation. [2]

Results of the Phase 1 ‘4 R’ training for teachers indicate:

• Improved willingness to report child sexual abuse. End line results indicated a reduction in teachers' apprehension toward (40% to 33%) and fear of retribution (51% to 24%) for reporting child sex abuse cases.
• Increased knowledge of child sexual abuse and reporting mechanisms.
• Increased child sexual abuse referrals. In the year following implementation, school authorities reported 11 cases of child sexual abuse to the public referral hospital, whereas no reports had been made in the previous five years. Most of the 11 referrals were made after children disclosed child sexual abuse to a teacher or mother.

Additional results of this first phase also include:

Results of the Phase 2 student curriculum component indicate:

• Emotional regulation benefits. The mindfulness training showed a positive impact, particularly in the areas of 'Impulse control' and 'Clarity of emotion', where students scored higher at the post-test surveys.
• Increased knowledge of positive relationships and bystander strategies. Students exhibited a significant increase in knowledge related to abuse, dating violence, and strategies for supporting peers and acting as upstanders, following the completion of the Health modules.
• Increased reports of attempted unwanted sex and non-contact sexual violence. Following the intervention, there was a statistically significant increase in self-reported attempted unwanted sex. Among males, reports increased by 4.9 percentage points (from 5.5% to 10.4%), and among females by 2.2 percentage points (from 2.6% to 4.8%). Conversely, reports on all forms of non-contact sexual abuse increased significantly by 5.0 percentage points among females and 4.4 percent among males.

Additional results of this first second also include:

Safe Schools for Teens is one of the first studies to evaluate a school-based intervention that uses mindfulness techniques to prevent child sexual abuse among adolescents in low- and middle-income countries. 

The proof of concept study results suggest the program raised awareness and increased willingness to report child sexual abuse among teachers and students. Increased reports of child sexual abuse to the referral hospital likely suggest the intervention increased awareness and reporting. 

In addition, the researchers understand the increased self-reports of attempted unwanted sex and non-contact sexual violence to indicate greater willingness to disclose following the intervention. 

More research is needed to confirm this interpretation, to determine if the intervention is associated with declines in child sexual abuse, and to assess whether the intervention works in other settings such as rural areas.

Challenges

• Measuring impact and sustainability. Due to the short interval between the pre- and post-surveys, it is difficult to assess if the prevalence of sexual violence declines as a result of the intervention or if the improvements documented are sustained over the long term.

Lessons learned

• Repeat content for older students. Students may benefit from longer modules, provided to children in higher grades, to reinforce knowledge gained in the program over time.
• Teachers are key allies. The role of teachers in helping children to report violence is key: teaching educators how to handle child sexual abuse cases reduced the fear of repercussions. It empowered them in their role of safeguarding children from violence.
• Robust referrals. A clear referral system with guidance counsellors in place is essential to protecting children from violence.
• Government champions. The support of the Department of Education was critical in implementing this program.