The Relationship Between Sexual Violence and Girl-Child Primary School Education in Developing Countries

All children have the right to quality education that respects their human dignity and their right to be protected from violence and abuse. However, in some developing countries this is not the case. According to the latest data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), sexual violence in developing countries over the past 15 years rose by over 370%. Sexual violence on girls results in physical and psychological harm including long-lasting suffering. In this study, our interest mainly lies in the social impact sexual violence is likely to cause to the victims. This includes, but not limited to, rejection by family and community, exclusion from economic engagement, isolation, and the likelihood of further violence. All things being equal, all of these will affect the demand for schooling and the desire to acquire formal education. Therefore, the contribution of this study is to quantify the impact of sexual violence on girl-child education in a broad range of developing countries. To achieve this, we used country-level data from 72 developing countries between 2003–2017. The pooled OLS and fixed effects techniques were then used in estimating the impact of sexual violence on different measures of girl-child education. The results of the estimations showed a negative relationship between sexual violence and the different measures of the girl-child education. For example, using the fixed effects results, an increase in sexual violence by one standard deviation from the sample mean will reduce girls' enrolment rate and completion rate by 2.385% and 3.150% points, respectively. The results provide an interesting dimension to what is already known of the girl-child education and can aid policymakers in their interventions in improving educational outcomes for girls. With respect to policy implications from the findings, countries must formulate adequate responses to protect their young citizens from the cruelty of sexual abuse. In addition, effective support mechanisms for victims of sexual violence should be facilitated and sustained in developing countries. This will help in ameliorating some of the negative impact of their violent experiences and help to prepare them to re-enter society and return to education.