Reducing 'Sexually Transmitted Grades' (STG) in Burkina Faso
Alitus Femina
Samira is a 19-year-old student and the eldest of a family of 5 children. Both of her parents farm as a means of supporting the family. They barely manage to pay the school fees for 4 children who attend school. In her final year, Samira excelled in all subjects, except for History, taught by a teacher nicknamed "the hunter" due to his habit of kicking out any student who arrived a bit late for his class.
At the beginning of her final year, Samira had achieved very good marks in all her classes, including the History course taught by "the hunter". However, as soon as the teacher started to pay attention to her, Samira began to get bad grades such as 1.8 or 2.3 out of 20 on each type of test. She decided to ask for an appointment with the teacher to check her test copies. The teacher didn't want to meet her on the day he works at the office, Tuesday. He wanted to meet her on Friday after class. Samira agreed to meet the teacher in the office.
During a copy-check, Samira realized that her work hadn't even been marked, and that the marks she'd received from the teacher were just deliberately notated. The teacher said to her, "You know what, if you really want to succeed in my course, you have to let yourself go and allow me to have more time with you, so you don't have to make any effort." Samira replied, "I don't understand the link between my success and what you're telling me to do. All I know is that I must study well, take my tests and have my papers like any other students in this class." The teacher said: "I have principles. If you agree to give up your body, you're guaranteed to pass. If you don't, you'll stay in this class unless you change schools".
Samira left the teacher’s office immediately. A few days later, she shared her experience with her friend Eda, who she learned was also a victim of this practice at the hands of another teacher.
Samira was lucky enough to be one of the schools involved in the FIT project conducted by Alitus Femina. She got actively involved and was trained among girl-leaders on gender equality and quality education for girls. Her History teacher also received training from Alitus Femina and changed his perception to become a committed teacher motivated to promote quality education and the prevention of sexual violence.
Samira concluded by saying:
"I hope that Alitus Femina's donors can really continue to support us in this fight against sexuality in schools and so we find the means to banish STG from our schools."
*For anonymity the name has been changed