Evaluating Child Protection Risks in Kismayo District Schools: Safety, Health, Environmental, and Infrastructure Challenges
Abstract
Background: School-based safeguarding combines protection from violence with emergency preparedness, health support, hygienic facilities, and inclusive learning conditions. Objective: To describe teachers’ and head teachers’ perceptions of child protection risks in Kismayo District schools. Methods: The source study describes a cross-sectional questionnaire survey conducted in 2025 and reports 242 school-staff respondents (219 teachers and 23 head teachers). Five-point Likert responses were summarized descriptively and group comparisons were reported using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Frequencies were rechecked against the stated denominator of 242; no respondent-level dataset was supplied. Results: Most respondents considered their schools secure (205/242, 84.7%), yet fewer endorsed regular safety drills (77/242, 31.8%) or clear emergency plans (113/242, 46.7%). Fewer than half endorsed adequate health services (82/242, 33.9%) or available mental-health programmes (103/242, 42.6%). Although 208 respondents (86.0%) described school environments as clean and maintained, 39 (16.1%) disagreed that corporal punishment was absent. Reported ANOVA results indicated differences in safety ratings by age, health/hygiene ratings by experience and education, and physical-environment ratings by position. Conclusion: Respondents described generally positive everyday security alongside gaps in preparedness, health support, and violence prevention. Inconsistencies in source documentation limit claims about prevalence, composite scores, sampling, and causation.