45 _Including violence prevention in sexual and reproductive health education_ The inclusion of sexual and reproductive health modules in national or provincial educational curricula is common in Latin America. These modules tend to focus on the prevention of teen pregnancy, as well as the prevention of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases. They have only infrequently incorporated the issue of GBV. While school-based programs have successfully improved students’ knowledge about HIVAIDS and other health issues in many settings, they have had a more limited impact on sexual behavior (Leach et al., 2003). In many cases, researchers suggest that weak programming may be to blame; school-based programs often suffer from poor content, lack of teacher training, resistance by teachers, cultural barriers, and parental objections to sex education. Little is known about the ability of these programs to improve violence-related attitudes or behaviors, especially in Latin America. One quasi-experimental study of life skills education among 9th graders in South Africa found that the program had only a minor impact on attitudes towards sexual coercion. Even when GBV prevention is incorporated into sexual and reproductive health curricula, what is generally missing is recognition that gender roles play—and more specifically norms surrounding masculinity—not only in sexual and reproductive health risk taking (Stern et al., 2001), but also in reinforcing and perpetuating GBV.

_School-based programs to prevent GBV and other forms of violence_ 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 basic safety precautions. Few low and middle-income countries have adopted this model, but the number of program experiences and the breadth of the 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, 1995b).

A large number of evaluations have gauged the effectiveness of these programs (Finkelhor and Strapko, 1992; Meyer and Stein 2000; Bolen, 2003; Chalk and King, 1998), some with rigorous scientific designs, control groups, extensive quantitative outcome measures, and long-term follow-up. This research indicates that while programs can improve knowledge and reported willingness to report abuse, they do not appear to reduce victimization among participants compared to controls. Thus, many researchers and advocates argue against focusing on girls' ability to protect themselves; instead, they argue that initiatives should aim to change male norms and behaviors and to promote positive models of forming relationships (Chalk and King, 1998; Bolen, 2003).

In Latin America, in contrast, we are unaware of any school-based programs that directly address GBV, whether child sexual abuse, dating violence, other sexual abuse among students, or sexual abuse of students by teachers or other school staff, with the exception of