This study is an update to one released by the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) in 2012. Evidence was gathered on the nature, scope and consequences of the use of education institutions by armed forces during the period from January 2005 to March 2015. 

The Columbia Group for Children in Adversity (CGCA) out of Columbia University’s Program on Forced Migration and Health (hereafter “Columbia University”) was contracted to conduct in-depth studies of attacks on education in South Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Mogadishu, Somalia in an attempt to fill some of these information gaps and contribute to the development of improved methodologies for monitoring and responding to such attacks.

This resource is part of a collection of resources compiled by UNICEF’s 2012-2016 Peacebuilding, Education and Advocacy Programme (PBEA), known as "Learning for Peace", which was funded by the Government of the Netherlands.

Une étude mondiale relative aux menaces ou au recours délibéré à la force à l’encontre des élèves, des enseignants, des universitaires, des fonctionnaires et syndicalistes de l’éducation, des travailleurs humanitaires et d’autres membres du personnel de l’éducation, et contre des écoles, des universités et d’autres établissements éducatifs.

The paper addresses the scope and nature of attacks on education personnel and the range of measures put in place to protect them. Many of the measures have not been formally evaluated. Additional research is needed to understand the dynamics of attacks on teachers and how to most effectively protect teachers.

This study examines how organizations supporting education programs have engaged communities to protect schools, students, and teachers in countries experiencing attacks on education.

This report discusses school violence in West and Central Africa and finds that over half of primary school children were victims of corporal punishment in schools. The report also highlights that children with disabilities and those displaced by conflict are particularly at risk of school-based violence.

Cette publication a été conçue et développée conjointement par l’UNICEF, Plan Afrique de l’Ouest, Save the Children Suède Afrique de l’Ouest et ActionAid dans le cadre de leurs efforts communs pour mettre fin à toute forme de violence contre les enfants – en milieu scolaire, familles et communautés.

In view of the gaps in knowledge and information about attacks on education and about how education can be protected from attack, UNESCO has commissioned a series of publications to research and analyse these issues. Its aim is to enhance global understanding of the nature, scope, motives and impact of attacks on education and of the work that is being done by communities, organizations and governments to prevent and respond to such violence.

This accompanying publication to the 2010 edition of Education under Attack presents key discussion points and 13 papers written by researchers and practitioners active in the field of protecting education from attack.