A/HRC/44/52/Add.2 D. Sexual violence within the education system 64. The Constitution provides that the State is responsible for eliminating all forms of violence within the education system and for safeguarding the physical, psychological and sexual integrity of students (art. 347). The Organic Law on Intercultural Education (2011) and the Organic Law on Higher Education, as amended in 2018, incorporate the principles of equality and non-discrimination, and provide for the eradication and sanctioning of any form of violence against women and girls in educational settings. The Ministry of Education has developed protocols to address cases of pregnancy and gender-based violence within the school environment, and on training staff on gender-based violence and child sex abuse.18 65. Protection from sexual violence in schools and the guarantee of reproductive rights are fundamental to girls’ and women’s right to life, health and equality. Pregnancy is one of the principal causes of school dropout, with Ministry of Education estimates indicating that in 2015, 6,487 adolescents abandoned their studies as a result of pregnancy. 66. Between 2015 and 2017, the Ministry of Education registered 4,584 complaints of violence detected or committed within the National Education System, representing 17 per cent of the total number of reported cases of sexual abuse of children. 19 The majority of complaints were found to be against suspected perpetrators from within the victim’s close circle. In 2017, the National Assembly established the AAMPETRA Commission, a special multiparty legislative commission named after the private school where 41 children were sexually abused by one teacher.20 The Commission focused on establishing the facts related to school-related sexual violence against children, conducted in-depth analysis of 8 out of 57 cases of sexual violence against children reported to it, and evaluated the action taken by the Ministry of Education and relevant State institutions in the past to respond to schoolrelated sexual violence.21 67. Comprehensive sex education, both at home and in educational institutions, is paramount if sexual violence in schools and at home is to be avoided, a call reiterated by the girls the Special Rapporteur met with during her visit. The girls also called for “respectful, friendly and specialized sexual and reproductive health services, as well as access to modern, accessible and high-quality contraceptive methods to prevent pregnancy”. 68. A joint study by UNICEF, World Vision and the Ministry of Education revealed that 6 out of every 10 students has been a victim of violence at school, with 16 per cent of girl students having contemplated suicide as a result.22 Many incidents of such violence, including sexual violence, are perpetrated by teachers or administrators who abuse their position of authority to intimidate students and instil fear. 69. Furthermore, the right to access justice for victims of sexual violence and harassment is essential to their ability to participate meaningfully in society. The low rate of conviction, coupled with physical and psychological barriers to reporting the incidents themselves, creates a culture of impunity with regard to sexual violence and harassment. 70. The case of Paola Guzmán exemplifies how sexual violence in educational contexts encompasses a broad range of human rights violations, including violations of women’s and girls’ right to live free from violence, their right to access to reproductive health care and to freely make reproductive choices and also the right to access to justice. 18 19 20 21 22 12 “Protocolos de actuación frente a situaciones de violencia detectadas o cometidas en el sistema educativo” (2017) and “Protocolos de actuación frente a situaciones de embarazo, maternidad y paternidad de estudiantes en el sistema educativo” (2017). “Ecuador: aumentan denuncias de abuso sexual a menores en el 2018, según informe Aampetra”, El Universo (Quito), 11 October 2018. Academia Aeronáutica Mayor Pedro Traversari. Human Rights Watch, World Report 2019, p. 181. Ecuador, Ministry of Education, UNICEF and World Vision, Una mirada en profundidad al acoso escolar en el Ecuador, 2016, p. 30.