School for Justice- education survivors SEC Nepal

The School for Justice in Nepal

With the School for Justice, Free a Girl supports girls change the system from within. We are very proud of the progress of the girls attending the program! They want to end the sexual exploitation of children by becoming empowered and playing an active role in the fight. Students become human rights professionals such as lawyers, paralegals, public prosecutors, journalists, counsellors and policewomen, so they can change the system from within. This program received international recognition and was mentioned in a UN report ‘as an innovative model of social inclusion’.

The story of Usha: a successful graduate!

Usha is a survivor of sexual exploitation as a child. She joined the School for Justice when we first started the program in Nepal. We are happy to announce that Usha graduated the School for Justice program in 2022. Through the support of Free a Girl she followed a university masters and interned at a law firm. The law firm was so impressed that they decided to hire her as a full time employee. As a change agent, she now supports several cases that help victims of terrible crimes.

The overall results of the School for Justice to date

80 students enrolled for university and vocational training in pursuit of justice!

A total of 80 students have so far participated in the School for Justice programme in Nepal of which 31 successfully finished the programme and 49 students are currently active in the programme. The current group consists of 19 university students plus 30 vocational students following the paralegal programme’. All 30 paralegals passed their theoretical exams and almost finished their internships.

60 paralegal students

In 2021, the first batch of 30 survivors finished their paralegal program. Currently, a new enthusiastic batch of 30 paralegals embarked this exiting journey. During their internships, as well as learning a great deal themselves, they provide unique, accessible and support at various police stations to thousands of women and children who want to report crimes; support that would otherwise be provided by men as an external service, and that would also cost money.

19 university students following the university track

The 19 students on the university track are increasingly taking initiative, and develop ideas about how to maximize their impact when tackling the problem of trafficking and sexual exploitation. We see that the counselling, coaching, media training and legal awareness trainingis bearing fruit.

All focus on empowerment and raising their voices for justice

In addition to their education, girls are actively involved in writing articles on the topic, joining campaigns and rallies, creating a victim referral platform, providing awareness training in schools and communities, and approaching various political, police and legal representatives to discuss the problem and how they can take responsibility for it.

Involvement of parents: important steps forward

One of initial challenges faced by the School for Justice was how to involve families in the program. Although family support is extremely important, many families no longer accepted their children due to stigma. In some cases, the students did not share their stories of exploitation for this very reason. However, after receiving the necessary counselling, several students decided to improve the contact with their parents over the years; a great step forward!

Fighting for justice: change agents

One of the recent highlights of the program is that one of the university students found a job at a law firm and will fight for justice in this wonderful capacity! Without a doubt, she has become a real change agent. She is extremely happy with the support she has received from the program, and we are so proud of how she has dealt with all the challenges she faced. She is also a great source of support to others in the School for Justice.