School violence and the adolescent girl learners' academic progress in South African schools

Abstract

School violence affects all involved. Girl learners find themselves in a school environment where their scholastic careers are threatened as a result of various forms of violence experienced at school. The purpose of the article was to report research done on the effects of violence in schools on girl learners. A qualitative research methodology, with quantitative elements, was employed. Adolescent girl learners in secondary schools in six provinces in South Africa with ages from 14 years onwards participated in the study. The effects of violence in schools on girl learners are far-reaching, with some participants indicating that they had to miss out on school and pay extra cost to receive medical attention and that if the violence continued, they would drop out of school.