expected them to transfer their training to their colleagues). The evaluation produced two key findings virtually identical to those from other sectors. First, training all staff-the “whole school” approach was more effective than the “trainer of trainers” approach. In fact, none of the teachers in schools that used a “trainer of trainers” approach had transferred training to their colleagues due to time constraints. Second, effective training must address teachers’ own experiences of abuse and perpetration. Almost half the female teachers reported having been physically abused by a male partner at some point in their lives; almost one-third reported experiences of sexual abuse; and several male teachers admitted to physically or sexually abusing their partners or colleagues.

# **_Expanding and improving school-based counseling and referral services_**

A number of schools have tried to improve their response to sexual violence and harassment by providing counseling and referral services to students. For example, the TANESA “Guardian Project” aimed to improve girls’ safety by designating one teacher from each of 185 primary schools as a “guardian” or _mlezi_ (Mgalla et al., 1998; Mirsky, 2003; Guedes, 2004). _Mlezi’s_ were trained to counsel girls who experienced sexual violence or harassment, or who needed advice about other sexual and reproductive health issues. Evaluators assessed the results of the program through interviews with teachers, ‘guardians’ and 1219 students in 40 schools with a guardian and 22 schools without. In the participating schools, over 61% of girls consulted the guardians during the first year. In control schools, not a single girl said that she would ever report sexual harassment by a teacher, compared to 52% of girls in schools with a _mlezi._ The program had less success in other areas; for example, it was not able to change teachers’ negative attitudes towards girls who became pregnant or who contracted an STI.

# **Community mobilization**

# **_Mobilizing parents and community members to monitor school safety_**

In theory, parent organizations and other community groups could pressure schools to ensure students’ safety and enforce sexual harassment policies. Leach et al. (2003) investigated sexual abuse and harassment in schools in Zimbabwe, Ghana, and Malawi. They followed up their research with pilot interventions such as seminars and workshops with students, parents and teachers (in all three countries); workshops with government officials and NGOs (in Zimbabwe and Malawi); and community theatre in the context of a _Durbar--_ a traditional meeting of community stakeholders that aims to raise awareness of a problem and find solutions (in Ghana). Researchers evaluated the results of these efforts using informal, qualitative methods and concluded that community workshops and theatre raised awareness of abuse, increased willingness of parents to report abuse, and allowed the community to confront the problem of abuse without putting individual girls at risk of retaliation. In one site, Leach and colleagues report that the initiative resulted in sanctions against the head of a school who had repeatedly sexually abused students.

# **Individual behavior change strategies**

# **_School-based sexual abuse prevention programs_**

Beginning in the 1970s, schools and universities throughout the United States launched programs designed to prevent child sexual abuse, “dating violence,” or other forms of sexual coercion among students. Typically these programs were based on the theory that children and young women could be taught to protect themselves by recognizing abuse, reporting threatening situations, and adopting safety precautions. Few low and middle-income countries have adopted this model, but the number of programs and the breadth of research on these initiatives make them worthy of mention. By 1992, these programs were so widespread in the United States that a national survey of young people (aged 10-16, n=2000) found that approximately two-thirds had participated in a sexual abuse prevention program through their school (Finkelhor and Dziuba-Leatherman, 1995). A large number of studies have evaluated the effectiveness of these programs (see reviews by Finkelhor and Strapko, 1992; Meyer and Stein 2000; 34