Jenny Parkes - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Jenny Parkes

Saharan Africa highlights how in order to understand patterns of violence against girls, it is im... more Saharan Africa highlights how in order to understand patterns of violence against girls, it is important to look not just at the acts of violence and individual perpetrators and victims, but at the interactions in schools, families and communities that surround and underpin these acts, and at the inequitable institutions that perpetuate violence. combining the emphasis on individuals, institutions and interactions, the project developed a conceptual framework.

Hand searches from 1991 of titles and abstracts of relevant articles were conducted in a range of... more Hand searches from 1991 of titles and abstracts of relevant articles were conducted in a range of journals; a full list can be found in Appendix 1. The websites of eleven networks or multilateral agencies were searched, and the websites of six large NGOs were scanned to identify additional grey literature and evaluation reports (see Appendix 1). In a further attempt to identify grey literature, particularly that written by southern scholars, email correspondence was initiated by Professor Moletsane with two networks, one linked to the journal Agenda, focusing on gender issues in Africa, and the second linked to an African health and gender discussion group. Through these personal contacts, a small amount of additional material was identified for the review. Members of the research team drew on their specialist knowledge of the field to identify work published in or in preparation for journals, books and edited collections, which may not have appeared in online databases. Searches of relevant books were made in the catalogues of three university libraries (

BMJ Global Health

Collecting data to understand violence against women and children during and after the COVID-19 p... more Collecting data to understand violence against women and children during and after the COVID-19 pandemic is essential to inform violence prevention and response efforts. Although researchers across fields have pivoted to remote rather than in-person data collection, remote research on violence against women, children and young people poses particular challenges. As a group of violence researchers, we reflect on our experiences across eight studies in six countries that we redesigned to include remote data collection methods. We found the following areas were crucial in fulfilling our commitments to participants, researchers, violence prevention and research ethics: (1) designing remote data collection in the context of strong research partnerships; (2) adapting data collection approaches; (3) developing additional safeguarding processes in the context of remote data collection during the pandemic; and (4) providing remote support for researchers. We discuss lessons learnt in each of...

American Journal of Public Health

Objectives. To describe the prevalence of and risk factors for workplace violence among Ugandan a... more Objectives. To describe the prevalence of and risk factors for workplace violence among Ugandan adolescents.Methods. The analysis focused on adolescents recruited at primary schools who participated in the endline survey of a trial in 2014 (at ages 11–14 years) and were followed up in 2018–2019 (at ages 17–19 years). The analysis was restricted to those engaged in past-year paid work (n = 1406). We estimated the prevalence of past-year workplace violence and used mixed-effects multivariable logistic regression to explore associations with characteristics measured in early adolescence, current life circumstances, and work-related factors.Methods. The analysis focused on adolescents recruited at primary schools who participated in a 2014 survey and were followed up in 2018–2019. The analysis was restricted to those engaged in past-year paid work (n = 1406). We estimated the prevalence of past-year workplace violence and used mixed-effects multivariable logistic regression to explore a...

Children & Society

Uganda had the longest period of school closures worldwide as a response measure during the Covid... more Uganda had the longest period of school closures worldwide as a response measure during the Covid-19 pandemic. Drawing on longitudinal qualitative data from the Contexts of Violence in Adolescence Cohort Study (CoVAC) (2018-2023), we examine how this has affected the lives of adolescents in Uganda. Our analysis showcases how intersecting inequities based on socioeconomic circumstances, gender and location have intensified, with detrimental effects on young people's educational paths and life circumstances. Strategies that take the intersections of these inequities into account are urgently needed to help the most disadvantaged and marginalized young people return to school.

In the fifteen years since Beijing, there has been enormous progress in awareness of multiple for... more In the fifteen years since Beijing, there has been enormous progress in awareness of multiple forms of violence against girls, with research, policy and practice increasingly focusing on and attempting to address violence in and out of school settings. This paper traces these important areas of progress as well as the gaps and challenges. The key question in our analysis is why it is that despite growing awareness and action at international, national and local level, we still have insufficient knowledge about how to combat violence, with girls lacking adequate support and capacity to protect themselves. To address this question, we discuss four broad areas. Following a discussion of theoretical issues and concepts, we examine research evidence on violence against girls. We then consider how violence has been addressed in policy and practice in recent years. Finally, we hope to make some tentative suggestions for the way forward.

This report presents findings from baseline studies carried out in three districts in Kenya, Ghan... more This report presents findings from baseline studies carried out in three districts in Kenya, Ghana and Mozambique for Stop Violence Against Girls in School, a five year project (2008-2013) led by ActionAid. The study aimed to provide a baseline with which to measure and evaluate change over the course of the project, as well as building in depth knowledge of gender, violence and education in the project areas in order to inform decision making about community intervention, advocacy and research priorities in the project, and contributing to the international literature on gender violence in schools. Data was collected in 2009 in 13 primary schools and communities in Ghana, 16 in Kenya and 15 in Mozambique. A total of 2757 respondents participated in the baseline study, including girls and boys, teachers and head teachers, parents, SMC members, community leaders and women’s group leaders, District Education Officers, District Health Officers and Police. The studies combined quantitat...

This review reveals a number of challenges in interventions to improve girls’ education and gende... more This review reveals a number of challenges in interventions to improve girls’ education and gender equality. For example targeted cash transfers may improve the chances of getting more girls into school and promote keeping them in school but increases in enrolment may have an adverse effect on learning achievement. Similarly girls’ only targeted scholarships to attend school may have adverse effects in terms of isolating the selected girls from their friends and raising feelings of the lack of fairness to disadvantaged boys. There is also insufficient evidence that the provision of toilets although beneficial on their own can improves enrolment progression or achievement. Employment of female teachers per se although essential is not enough but teacher training for higher levels of subject knowledge and gender sensitivity is vitally important for girls’ learning improvement. And extra-curricular clubs which focus on gender equality issues are an important space where girls and boys ...

against children in Ugandan primary schools: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled t... more against children in Ugandan primary schools: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial

JMIR Research Protocols, 2020

Background Violence against children in schools is a global public health problem. There is growi... more Background Violence against children in schools is a global public health problem. There is growing evidence that school-based interventions can be effective in reducing violence against children in schools. However, there is little evidence on the long-term impact of such interventions. The Good School Toolkit, developed by Raising Voices, a Uganda-based nonprofit organization, is a whole-school violence prevention intervention that aims to change the operational culture of primary schools. In 2014, the Good School Toolkit was evaluated through a cluster randomized controlled trial (Good Schools Study) and found to reduce teacher-to-student and student-to-student violence. Objective This protocol describes quantitative analyses to explore long-term outcomes of the Good School Toolkit intervention among adolescents in Uganda, including the extent to which it is associated with peer-violence victimization (primary outcome) and peer-violence perpetration, intimate-partner violence, ac...

This report presents findings from a scoping study of policy, practice and evidence on school-rel... more This report presents findings from a scoping study of policy, practice and evidence on school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) in Zambia, which was carried out in 2016. The main objective of the study was to analyse responses to gender-based violence in and around schools in Zambia, in order to inform future planning of policy and practice initiatives. The study was a collaboration between the government of Zambia, UNICEF, and researchers at the UCL Institute of Education working alongside consultant, Romana Maumbu. Its core elements consist of: analysis of legislation and policy; analysis of programming on SRGBV; mapping of stakeholders working on SRGBV; and the identification and evaluation of research and data sets. The findings presented here will be used to guide decision making for phase two of the initiative which will take place during 2017, as well as longer term planning and action on SRGBV in Zambia. The findings will provide the basis for reflection and the developm...

The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 2021

Human Rights Documents online

The Lancet Global Health, 2015

Background Violence against children from school staff is widespread in various settings, but few... more Background Violence against children from school staff is widespread in various settings, but few interventions address this. We tested whether the Good School Toolkit-a complex behavioural intervention designed by Ugandan not-forprofi t organisation Raising Voices-could reduce physical violence from school staff to Ugandan primary school children. Methods We randomly selected 42 primary schools (clusters) from 151 schools in Luwero District, Uganda, with more than 40 primary 5 students and no existing governance interventions. All schools agreed to be enrolled. All students in primary 5, 6, and 7 (approximate ages 11-14 years) and all staff members who spoke either English or Luganda and could provide informed consent were eligible for participation in cross-sectional baseline and endline surveys in June-July 2012 and 2014, respectively. We randomly assigned 21 schools to receive the Good School Toolkit and 21 to a waitlisted control group in September, 2012. The intervention was implemented from September, 2012, to April, 2014. Owing to the nature of the intervention, it was not possible to mask assignment. The primary outcome, assessed in 2014, was past week physical violence from school staff , measured by students' self-reports using the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect Child Abuse Screening Tool-Child Institutional. Analyses were by intention to treat, and are adjusted for clustering within schools and for baseline school-level means of continuous outcomes. The trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01678846. Findings No schools left the study. At 18-month follow-up, 3820 (92•4%) of 4138 randomly sampled students participated in a cross-sectional survey. Prevalence of past week physical violence was lower in the intervention schools (595/1921, 31•0%) than in the control schools (924/1899, 48•7%; odds ratio 0•40, 95% CI 0•26-0•64, p<0•0001). No adverse events related to the intervention were detected, but 434 children were referred to child protective services because of what they disclosed in the follow-up survey. Interpretation The Good School Toolkit is an eff ective intervention to reduce violence against children from school staff in Ugandan primary schools.

International Journal of Educational Development, 2013