A disturbingly high percentage of school girls face physical and emotional abuse in some form or the other from their teachers and male counterparts in India, a recent report of Amnesty International India has revealed.
Highlighting shocking methods of abuse, the international report on 'Safe Schools: Every Girl's Right', released in Lucknow University, said girls 'continuously face the risk of being sexually assaulted, harassed or intimidated in or on the way to school'.
Many school girls face psychological violence, bullying and humiliation, while some are caned or beaten in school in the name of discipline, the report said.
Besides, they are threatened with 'sexual assault' by other students, offered higher marks by teachers in exchange for sexual favours, and even raped in the staff room, it said.
Referring to the survey 'Study on Child Abuse: India 2007', the AAI report said that the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar and Delhi almost consistently reported higher rates of abuse in all forms as compared to other states.
In all, 50 per cent of the girls reported to have been emotionally abused of in one form or the other.
The trend emerged to be worse in the capital, where as many as 87 per cent of the young female students reported facing one or more forms of emotional abuse during their childhood, it said.
The violence in and around educational institutions remains pervasive and the dangerous trend exists in schools all over the world, it said.
Very often, aggressive and inappropriate sexual advances by boys in schools are dismissed as just 'boys being boys', the report highlighted.
Such behaviour often goes unreported and unpunished, sending out the message that violence against women and girls was acceptable and that male aggression was the norm.
Corporal punishment, use of whips, beatings with electric cables, forcing children to kneel under the sun, food deprivation, sexual abuse, insults and psychological abuse of girls was common by teachers and administrative staff, the report said.
Particular groups, such as ethnic minorities, lesbians or girls with disabilities, are at higher risk than their peers.
Observing that the governments were "failing" girls at the most basic level (schools), Amnesty calling upon state and school officials to take concrete action to end violence against girls particularly inside schools premises.
As every government claimed to abhor violence against women and girls, it could start backing up their words with concrete actions by taking appropriate measures in schools, the report said.
The AII also demanded providing support services for girls, enforcing codes of conduct for all school staff and students and ensuring early response and intervention by school authorities through confidential and independent monitoring mechanism.
It also called for a national plan of action to make schools safe.