The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), through the Commission for Education and Religious Education (CERE), has stepped up efforts to combat violence against children in schools through a new evidence-based program targeting corporal punishment, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and bullying.
The initiative, known as SITAWI + Child’s program, is being developed in partnership with Evidence and Beyond, a Kenyan research and consulting firm, and will initially be piloted in two schools in the Catholic Diocese of Malindi beginning in January 2027. The Chairman of CERE is the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Bungoma, Rt. Rev. Mark Kadima.
The programme aims to transform schools into safe, supportive learning environments by equipping teachers, parents and learners with practical skills to prevent violence, promote positive discipline and protect children’s dignity.
Speaking during the training of Master Trainers at Madona Immaculate Retreat Centre in Nairobi, from 26th to30th October, the KCCB – CERE National Executive Secretary, Nicholas Muasya, said violence against children remains a major concern because it is sometimes perpetrated by the people entrusted with their care and formation, including parents, teachers and fellow learners.
The Commission, whose mandate includes promoting value-based education and the holistic formation of learners from pre-primary to secondary school, has identified the need to move beyond responding to cases of abuse towards preventing violence before it occurs.
Muasya cited findings from the Commission’s assessment indicating that nine out of ten learners surveyed had experienced at least one form of violence.
He observed that some harmful practices remain deeply entrenched in schools and homes, often justified as necessary measures for instilling discipline. “There are teachers who still insist that they must use pointers or other forms of punishment to maintain discipline. But instilling discipline does not mean causing harm to a learner. There are many other ways of correcting children,” he said.
From Safeguarding to Comprehensive Violence Prevention
Muasya explained that the new initiative builds on a three-year KCCB-CERE intervention implemented in the dioceses of Kitale, Kakamega and Malindi.
Following the project’s completion, the Commission sought to build on the lessons learned and expand its approach from child safeguarding to comprehensive violence prevention.
Working with the Diocese of Malindi, the Commission assessed the forms of violence affecting learners and explored practical interventions informed by research and international best practices.
The process involved reviewing baseline evidence, examining successful approaches from other parts of the world and engaging stakeholders in what Muasya described as a co-creation process.
The exercise resulted in the development of training manuals for teachers and learning materials targeting children and parents.
The Commission is currently building the capacity of master trainers from the Diocese of Malindi, who will subsequently train teachers to implement the programme in their schools.
Muasya said the initial pilot would help establish whether the intervention effectively prevents violence and whether it can be adapted and replicated in other dioceses. “We want to establish whether what we have developed is actually working, whether it is preventing violence against children and whether the intervention can be replicated in other dioceses,” he explained.
The one-year pilot will provide an opportunity to assess the programme’s effectiveness, identify gaps and incorporate feedback from teachers, learners and parents before considering its expansion.
Subject to the findings and available resources, the Commission hopes to extend the programme to additional dioceses before exploring wider implementation across the education sector.
Evidence and Research Driving the Intervention
The Founder and Executive Director of Evidence and Beyond, Dr. Lina Digolo, said the partnership with KCCB had evolved over three years, beginning with mutual learning and capacity-building before developing into a comprehensive violence prevention initiative.
Evidence and Beyond works with institutions to integrate research findings, practical knowledge and lived experiences into the design of effective programs that respond to local realities.
Dr. Digolo explained that the initial engagement with KCCB was intended to strengthen the Church’s existing Watoto Watunzwe child safeguarding programs.
However, after reviewing the programme and its theory of change, the two organisations recognised the need for a more comprehensive intervention addressing the different forms of violence experienced by children.
“We realised that the work we were coming into was bigger than we had imagined. We moved from Watoto Watunzwe, which was a child protection and safeguarding programme, to a multi-level comprehensive child violence prevention program, now called SITAWI +,” she said.
She noted that developing the programme took approximately one year and involved reviewing global research, examining evidence of what works and adapting the lessons to the Kenyan context.
The programme was also pre-tested with its intended beneficiaries, including children and teachers in the Diocese of Malindi, to ensure that the interventions were practical and responsive to the realities within schools.
Dr. Digolo described the Malindi pilot as an important stage in developing and refining the programme before wider implementation.
“We want to bring together what we have learned from research and different forms of knowledge, including what has worked globally, and test it within a Kenyan context, particularly within the faith sector,” she explained.
She said the one-year pilot would help the partners identify gaps, refine the intervention and develop an approach that could eventually be adapted for other dioceses and potentially other countries.
Corporal Punishment Disguised as Discipline
Both officials expressed concern over the continued use of corporal punishment in schools despite its prohibition in Kenya.
Muasya, drawing from his experience as a former mathematics teacher, challenged educators to reconsider traditional disciplinary practices and embrace approaches that promote dialogue, understanding and mutual respect.
He recalled questioning fellow teachers who wondered why he did not carry a cane, reminding them that adults resolve disagreements through discussions rather than physical punishment.
He argued that children should similarly be given opportunities to express themselves, understand their mistakes and participate in finding solutions to behavioural challenges.
Dr. Digolo cited findings from Kenya’s Violence Against Children Surveys conducted in 2010 and 2019, which documented the widespread nature of violence against children.
According to her, findings from the 2019 survey indicated that approximately one-third of boys and a comparable proportion of girls reported experiencing physical violence in school.
She observed that the continued prevalence of corporal punishment, despite its prohibition, demonstrates the need for stronger prevention strategies and sustained investment in teacher capacity-building.
“The data is unacceptable. Corporal punishment was banned in Kenya more than two decades ago, yet children continue to experience it. Our aim is to identify and implement solutions that can address this problem,” she said.
Violence Undermines Children’s Holistic Development
Muasya warned that violence against children has far-reaching consequences for their psychological well-being, social development and academic performance.
He explained that children subjected to repeated physical or emotional abuse may grow up timid, withdrawn and unable to express themselves freely.
Such experiences can also affect their relationships with teachers and fellow learners, making schools places of fear rather than environments where children feel safe, accepted and encouraged to learn.
He further cautioned that children who grow up experiencing violence may come to regard it as an acceptable way of resolving disagreements, potentially perpetuating cycles of violence in their families and communities.
On academic performance, Mwasyia noted that fear of punishment can prevent learners from asking questions, seeking clarification or admitting when they do not understand a subject.
A learner who fears being punished for giving a wrong answer may eventually lose interest in education and begin to perceive school as a place of punishment rather than discovery and growth.
Instead of assuming that a learner deliberately refuses to understand, he challenged teachers to reflect on their teaching approaches and identify ways of helping children learn better.
“When learners are allowed to express themselves, ask questions and even challenge their teachers respectfully, they become more confident and resilient. We should make schools places where children feel wanted, protected and supported,” he said.
Call for Stronger Collaboration in Child Protection
The two officials emphasised that preventing violence against children requires a coordinated approach involving government agencies, religious institutions, civil society organisations, schools, parents and communities.
Dr. Digolo observed that violence against children is both a multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary challenge that cannot be addressed by one institution working alone.
She cited Evidence and Beyond’s collaboration with the Ministry of Education, and other stakeholders in developing interventions aimed at preventing school-related violence, particularly corporal punishment.
She explained that bringing together partners working on similar interventions helps prevent duplication, encourages the sharing of knowledge and promotes coordinated national efforts.
“The issue of violence against children is both multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary. No single organisation can address it alone. We need different partners to come together, share evidence and coordinate their interventions so that we can achieve meaningful results,” she said.
Mwasyia also called for stronger reporting and referral mechanisms to ensure that children experiencing abuse receive timely and appropriate support.
He expressed concern that some cases, particularly sexual abuse, are sometimes handled informally at family level, with financial settlements taking precedence over the child’s welfare and need for justice and psychosocial support.
In such situations, children may be left to carry the emotional and psychological trauma long after adults consider the matter resolved.
He said the Commission was working to empower children to speak out when they experience abuse while equipping teachers to identify signs of violence, respond appropriately and connect affected learners to relevant support services.
He also urged government and religious institutions to complement one another in strengthening child protection systems, noting that teachers need adequate support to balance their academic responsibilities with their duty to safeguard learners.
The Commission hopes that lessons from the Malindi pilot will provide an evidence-based foundation for strengthening child protection and violence prevention programmes across Catholic schools in Kenya.
Ultimately, the initiative seeks to ensure that education goes beyond academic achievement to nurture the physical, emotional, spiritual, and social well-being of every learner, in an environment where children’s dignity is respected, their voices are heard and their potential is nurtured.
