“The Boys Won’t Leave the Girls Alone!”: The Importance of Advocacy and Educational Leadership in Addressing School-Related-Gender-Based-Violence (SRGBV).

In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a Resolution entitled ‘Transforming our world: the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development,’ among its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), SDG 4 relates to equitable and quality education for all and Goal 5 strives to ‘Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls’. Both SDGs will be the focus of the paper in the context of School-Related-Gender-Based-Violence and the role of education in challenging and addressing gender-based-violence (GBV). The paper will also consider GBV as an ethical concern and child protection priority, highlighting the pernicious and chronic impact of the concern on the health and well-being of girls and boys, including their educational attainment. There is a focus on the role of the adult within the educational context in listening to children affected by SRGBV and advocating and intervening for their safety and well-being at school. Finally, emphasis is placed on the importance of effective and inspirational school leadership as a quality driver for promoting gender equality and, enhancing the life outcomes for children and young people at school.