Over 60% boys beaten in schools: Oxford study

VIJAYAWADA: A study conducted over the years in Andhra Pradesh by the

Young Lives research programme

,

Oxford University

, UK, showed that 66% of the boys, who were interviewed, admitted to having faced

corporal punishment at school

as well as violence at home.

The varsity's Young Lives study conducted in the past seven years showed that violence against children both at home and school is rampant.Although, girls face less violence than boys in AP.

This paper “Understanding Children's Experiences of Violence in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana,“ by

Morrow V and R Singh

, was part of a series of working papers produced by

UNICEF's Office of Research

in collaboration with the Young Lives study .

Almost 59% of boys reported having been physically hurt at home as compared to 26% of girls, while a still larger percentage of boys reported being physically hurt by teachers (66%) as compared to girls (51%). It's noteworthy that more violence was reported in schools than home for both the sexes.

Caste-wise analysis shows that close to 45% of backward class children, 44% of Open category(OC) children and 41% of SC kids reported being hurt by family members, whereas 62% of BCs, 61% of SCs and 59% of OC children reported being hit by teachers. Violence against ST children at home (31%) and school (37%) was reported to be the least. The girls from ST community faced least violence as compared to females in castebased societies.

Economic status does not appear to be a significant factor affecting reports of violence experienced by children at home though it does appear to be a factor when it comes to schools.