On 23 March 2018 Girl Child Empowerment of Zimbabwe (GCE Zim) conducted a peer to peer training at Ndarama High School in Masvingo. The peer to peer training was aimed at sharing information on issues affecting girls in high schools. These issues include gender discrimination, child abuse, rape, unequal education opportunities and intergenerational relationships.
More than 250 students attended the peer to peer training workshop.
During the workshop it was noted that a number of students are afraid to report any form of abuse to their teachers as student-teacher relations may not permit. During the workshop it was also said that intergenerational sexual relationships, commonly known as age mixing, drive the spread of sexually transmitted infections. It was also pointed out that intergenerational sexual relationships do not only leave girls prone to abuse but young girls can also contract sexually transmitted infections, have unplanned pregnancies and limit career prospects.
The issue of intergenerational sexual relationships is one of the topics that was presented and received well as most students and present stakeholders could relate. After that presentation a number of pupils came forward to suggest different issues affecting them which they felt GCE Zim should address in the near future. Some of the pupils narrated stories of how abuse is being carried out in public spaces, communities, homes and at schools.
In an attempt to improve the attendance of girls in school, GCE Zim donated sanitary pads to participants while some sanitary pads were given to the school senior teacher, Mrs Chuma, to offer students at the school.
The director GCE Zim, Tatenda Maposa vowed to work with likeminded organizations and various stakeholders in making sure that young girls are able to articulate their rights. Ndarama high school senior teacher thanked the organization and urged all pupils to work extra hard in their studies and avoid risky relationships because they can hinder their academic progress.
