Education for Prevention Program

Context

In 2023, the new administration of the State Department of Education of Pará (SEDUC-PA) identified a high number of gender-based violence cases in public schools. With support from the State Department for Women (SEMU-PA) and the Safe School Program—which includes military police officers stationed in schools—Serenas was invited to co-develop a collaborative project to shift educational dynamics across the state.

Our work

Divided into two phases, the project trained leadership and technical teams to address gender-based violence in public schools across the state of Pará. The first phase included the training series “Safe Schools for All Girls,” which brought together managers from the Departments of Education and Women to integrate a gender perspective into public policies and school practices. In the second phase, we provided targeted training for the Internal Affairs and Ombudsman teams at SEDUC-PA, focused on supporting cases of violence involving both staff and students. The training included a needs assessment, awareness-building on the issue, and strategies for responding with ethics and care.

Impact

54

people were trained, including leadership and technical teams from the Departments of Education and Women, as well as military police officers stationed in schools—together responsible for 484,000 students across 882 school units.

42

professionals from SEDUC-PA’s Internal Affairs and Ombudsman teams also received specialized training.

91%

of participants came to recognize that their area holds significant responsibility in preventing gender-based violence—an increase of 43% after the training.

74%

of participants agreed that schools should address gender-based violence beyond the required content of the national curriculum (BNCC).