Effects of Gender-based Violence on Girl’s Classroom Participation: Evidence of Public Secondary Schools in Kakamega East Sub County Kenya
Merciline Atsango, Jason Nganyi and Lydia Wamocha
Department Of Educational Planning and Management
Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology
Orcid: 0009-0003-3261-682X
Email: mercilineatsango@gmail.com
Abstract: Gender-based violence (GBV) is a significant obstacle to girls’ learning, limiting their ability to access, attend and complete secondary education. Despite government initiatives to promote equality in educational access, many girls experiencephysical, sexual, psychological and economic violence, which may undermine their classroom participation. In Kakamega East Sub-County, persistent absenteeism, poor engagement and school dropout suggest that GBV may be an important but under-understood factor affecting girls’ participation. This study examined the effect of sexual violence and harassment on girls’ classroom participation in public secondary schools in Kakamega East Sub-County, Kenya. The study was guided by Ecological Systems Theory and adopted a correlational research design targeting secondary school girls. Stratified and simple random sampling were used to select 388 respondents. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression. Sexual violence and harassment significantly reduced classroom participation, with harassment affecting concentration showing a substantial negative effect (β = −0.276, p < 0.001), leading to rejection of the second null hypothesis. The study concludes that GBV is an important predictor of girls’ classroom participation and a substantial barrier to equitable secondary education. It recommends strengthening school-based child protection and GBV-prevention measures, enhancing guidance and counselling, increasing financial support for vulnerable girls, and strengthening collaboration among schools, parents, communities and government agencies. The findings are expected to inform education policy, protection programmes and interventions aimed at improving girls’ participation and educational outcomes in Kenya.
