Learning Circle: Integrating VAC & GBV Prevention into Education Systems

The webinar served as the shared launch of a new practice-based learning brief from What Works to Prevent Violence, Integrating VAC and GBV Prevention into National Education Systems. The Circle brought together practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and programme leads from across Asia and Africa to discuss effective ways to prevent violence against children in schools. It provided a space for countries to learn from each other, focusing on practical strategies, proven approaches, and collaboration models that help build safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environments. The session also aimed to strengthen regional connections and highlight experiences from the Global South to inform global conversations on prevention.

Over 50 participants joined from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan,  Uganda, Cambodia, Nepal, and several other African countries, along with teams from the What Works to Prevent Violence programme, UNICEF, and various civil society organisations. This diverse participation brought valuable insights and a rich range of regional experiences to the discussion.

Practice Based Learning Brief: “Integrating VAC and GBV Prevention into National Education Systems”

Lakmini Jayathilaka from What Works II, a multi-country initiative aimed at preventing violence against women and girls with a strong emphasis on integrating approaches to prevent violence against children, first highlighted the importance of cross-country learning across Asia and Africa and the need for programming that is grounded in robust evidence. She underscored the value of collaboration among governments, civil society organisations, and research partners in shaping effective prevention models. 

Sohini Bhattacharya from the Accelerator for Shifting Gender Norms Through Education, co-author of the practice-based learning brief, outlined a few key lessons, such as the importance of building sustainable government partnerships, co-creating and contextualising curricula, and embedding prevention content within teacher training and school governance systems. She explored strategies for addressing resistance, enabling teachers to act as agents of change, and engaging communities and parents to reinforce school-level work. Sohini highlighted how carefully planned monitoring and ongoing reflective practice has been shown to strengthen programming across partners.

Case examples from Uganda, India, Pakistan, and Madagascar illustrated how adaptable and impactful these approaches can be across diverse settings.

“This practice-based learning (PBL) brief draws on interviews and focus group discussions with grantee and consortium partners of the What Works II team. These practitioners have extensive experience integrating GBV into national education systems. There are many ways to integrate GBV prevention into national education systems and the lessons shared in this report are specific to experiences of those working on the What Works II programme.”

Panel Discussion: Experiences from integrating VAC and GBV prevention into national education systems

Pranita Achyut (ICRW) provided an overview of the regional evidence, noting that over 115 million children worldwide are affected by multiple forms of violence each year, with Asia carrying a significant proportion of the burden. She highlighted the recent regional synthesis report by Asia Hub co-developed by Hub partners. Pranita pointed to persistent data gaps, especially among marginalised groups, and emphasised that while legislative frameworks exist, implementation remains limited. She underscored the need for more nuanced, disaggregated, and context-specific evidence to guide policymaking, and highlighted how practice-based learning helps fill gaps left by formal research processes.

Sunita Menon (Breakthrough) shared Breakthrough’s extensive experience with the Taron Ki Toli model, which has engaged over four million adolescents across 30,000 schools in India. She discussed the model’s multi-level government engagement, comprehensive capacity-building efforts for teachers and district officials, recognition and motivation mechanisms for educators, and the governance structures that support long-term sustainability. Sunita also highlighted the integration of gender-equity content into academic subjects and noted ongoing challenges, including teacher workload and the readiness of education systems to adopt gender-transformative approaches.

Maham Ali (Right to Play, Pakistan) described Right to Play’s 18-year partnership with provincial governments in Pakistan, illustrating the long-term relationship-building required for sustainable change. She discussed the organisation’s evolution from volunteer-led to teacher-led models, the importance of generating strong and credible evidence to secure government buy-in, and the collaborative development of curricula with government partners. She also addressed the sensitivity required when designing content around topics like puberty education and highlighted the value of government ownership for scale and sustainability.

Hassan Mulusi (Raising Voices, UGANDA) presented the national scale-up of the Good Schools Toolkit in Uganda, emphasising deep collaboration with ministries and district authorities. He explained how Raising Voices engages teachers, parents, and school committees to shift school culture through participatory activities. He also highlighted the importance of continuously revising programme materials based on field feedback and the critical role of evidence-driven communication in securing stakeholder support.

“In the absence of systematic data collection on VAC in Asia’s schools, the Asia Hub’s regional synthesis and country reports highlight data that are indicative of trends and point attention to existing gaps. The 10 country reports are developed to stand alone, and are summarised in a scene-setting “Synthesis Report.” These reports are developed for all those working on the issue of VAC, particularly for those who see schools as an ideal entry point for its prevention.”

Key Takeaways from the Learning Circle

• Sustained government engagement is essential for long-term, system-wide
  change. Governments must integrate a prevention mindset into existing education system structures if they are to reach as many children as possible. 
• Evidence generation and practitioner learning must complement each other to
  strengthen programme design and policy influence.
• Supporting and equipping teachers with the skills they need remains central to transforming classroom practices.
• Community engagement and working with parents reinforces school-based efforts and helps sustain change.
• Scalable models must balance simplicity with cultural relevance to fit diverse contexts, both across and within regions.
• Integrating violence prevention into existing education structures improves feasibility and sustainability.
• Clear communication and trust-building with government stakeholders are critical for policy alignment. Co-creation and contextualisation of content with governments and communities improve ownership and long-term adoption.
• Regular monitoring, reflection and adaptation enhances programme quality across countries.
• Sensitive and contextual work on gender norms, GBV, and CSE topics is necessary for meaningful integration.
• Persistent data gaps, especially involving marginalised groups, limit policy action and require coordinated efforts. 

Conclusion

This discussion highlighted that there is strong regional interest in continued cross-country learning exchanges to strengthen practice and scale successful models. We look forward to continuing this discussion in a series of Learning Circles and in-person engagements throughout 2026.