School should be the safest place in a child’s life. For too many, it isn’t.
Every day, millions of children walk into schools where they face bullying, harassment, violence, or simply the anxiety of not knowing if they will be safe. These are not isolated incidents. They are a systemic challenge that demands urgent, coordinated action.
The data is clear. Children across India and the world are facing abuse, fear, and harm inside the very institutions meant to protect them.
NCPCR, 2012
MoWCD, 2007
Survey of 6,682 students, 2017
Durlak et al., 270,000+ students
Children are being harmed in the places meant to protect them.
75.5%
Physical abuse in schools
3 in 4 adolescents in Kerala experienced physical abuse within school, despite a national ban on corporal punishment since 2009. (2017 survey)
26.6%
Girls facing sexual abuse
Over 1 in 4 adolescent girls in Delhi experienced sexual abuse, most often by people known to them. (Data on Child Abuse in India)
19.9%
Lifetime prevalence
Nearly 1 in 5 school-going adolescents in Kerala experienced sexual abuse over their lifetime. (Kerala study, 2019)
The question is not whether we can make schools safer.
The question is whether we will.
Every child deserves to feel safe at school.
The tools exist. The evidence is clear. Let’s act.
