"ABUSE - FREE CHILDREN LEARN BETTER"

Children who are protected from abuse, violence and exploitation are eager to attend school and become better learners.
According to (The Gambia) Education Sector Report, 2008-2011 Medium-Term Plan , it is an established fact that children who are attending school are less vulnerable to child labour and child trafficking, and they recover more quickly from the traumatic effects of abuse, violence and exploitation.
The 2008-2011 report stated that violence, abuse and exploitation can keep girls, in particular out of school.
It went on to state that in achieving universal access to primary education as part of the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs) cannot be achieved without efforts to eliminate the barriers that keep children out of school, such as gender discriminations and child labour.
The report highlighted that studies have shown that even while in school, children continued to be vulnerable to abuse, violence and expliotation , including corporal punishment , sexual abuse and expliotation sometimes in the hands of the very teachers entrusted with their care.