In a village in the southern region of Sédhiou, 23-year old Fanta told Human Rights Watch about a secret “relationship” she had with her 30-year-old teacher, which began when she was 16. “I felt the shame in class … my classmates knew I was going out with him,” Fanta told Human Rights Watch. And so did other teachers, “but they said nothing.”

Fanta realized she was pregnant when she was 17. When her father tried to come to an arrangement with the teacher – a usual step taken by families who want to settle issues discretely to avoid facing their village’s scorn—he denied being the father of the child Fanta was expecting. “I told him ‘you have ruined my girls’ education,’ but he denied everything,” Fanta’s father, Cheikh, told Human Rights Watch. Even after it became evident that Fanta was pregnant, the school never investigated the matter, and the principal did not reach out to her, Fanta felt even more ashamed by the teacher’s denial: “I felt humiliated in front of my classmates.”

In Senegal, girls like Fanta face high levels of sexual and gender-based violence, including sexual exploitation, harassment and abuse, by teachers and other school officials. Unfortunately, these girls have few options for justice. Such cases are not often reported or investigated by school authorities. In some cases, families prefer to negotiate with men who make girls pregnant, including reaching agreement with the men to provide financial support for the girls during pregnancy, rather than to seek redress through official channels. But in many other cases, these girls would not inform their families because the taboos and stigma associated with such pregnancies are so damaging.

Report by the Human Rights Watch