About the Project

Every child and young person deserves to learn in safety and dignity. Yet across Tanzania, sexual abuse and gender-based violence (GBV) remain widespread in schools and higher learning institutions. Survivors are too often silenced by stigma, fear, and weak reporting systems, while abusers exploit this silence to continue harming others.

Today, abuse is no longer confined to physical spaces. A new frontier of violence has emerged through digital platforms: the use of sexual photos, videos, and private messages to blackmail, shame, or manipulate victims. This form of cyberbullying deepens trauma, destroys trust, and traps young people in cycles of fear — making it one of the most dangerous extensions of sexual abuse in our time.

The Fighting Sexual Abuse in Schools and higher learning Project is Elimu Foundation’s bold and transformative response. Through our Elimu Café methodology — inspired by the World Café dialogue model — we create safe, inclusive spaces where youth openly discuss issues affecting their lives. These conversations break the silence, build awareness, and spark institutional and cultural change.

Our Approach

We combine safe dialogue, policy translation, and digital literacy to strengthen protection systems:

• Elimu Café Safe Spaces: Open, youth-led discussions allow girls, boys, and young people to speak freely about abuse and violence, breaking down stigma and fear.

• Micro Safeguarding Policies: We support schools and higher learning institutions to create context-specific safeguarding policies. These ‘micro policies’ turn national government child desk guidelines into practical prevention, reporting, and redress mechanisms that work in real institutional contexts.

• Cyberbullying & Digital Abuse Awareness: We tackle the growing use of sexual content for blackmail and harassment by teaching responsible digital use. Youth learn how to stay safe online, resist manipulation, and reclaim digital spaces as places for learning and growth rather than abuse.

• Empowering Youth Voices: Young people are equipped with knowledge of their rights and accountability tools. They become leaders of change who challenge harmful norms and protect peers.

• Shared Accountability: By co-developing policies, leaders, gender desks, and students commit themselves to creating and sustaining safe learning environments.

Why It Matters

This project is revolutionary because it tackles abuse on all fronts — physical and digital. For the first time:
• Macro national policies are translated into micro safeguarding tools at the institutional level.
• Youth are not passive victims but active defenders of their rights.
• Survivors know they are protected by systems and peers, not left in silence.
• Cyberbullying is recognized and confronted as a real and urgent form of sexual abuse.

When schools and universities become safe spaces — both in classrooms and online — education becomes a pathway to empowerment, not exploitation.

Current Reality

This project currently operates without dedicated funding. Implementation is sustained through voluntary facilitation, institutional goodwill, and non-financial opportunities. While this allows us to act, progress is slow and limited in reach.

Our Call to Action

The urgency cannot be overstated. Every delay risks another survivor being silenced or retraumatized. With your partnership, we can:
• Scale Elimu Cafés across schools and universities.
• Strengthen institutional safeguarding policies nationwide.
• Deliver digital literacy programs to combat cyberbullying and online exploitation.
• Build a culture of accountability and dignity in every learning space.

Stand with us to end sexual abuse in all its forms.
Help us build safer classrooms, stronger institutions, and respectful digital spaces.

Contact us: info@elimufoundation-tz.org