An important public health issue that affects millions of people worldwide is gender violence. One of the most susceptible groups to gender violence is infants (Dagadu et al., 2022). Recent research has concentrated on examining the negative effects gender-based violence can have on children, particularly when they reach adulthood (Chung & Huang, 2021). Gender violence inflicted on young children is linked to detrimental developmental outcomes and may have long-lasting harmful repercussions (Banyard et al., 2019). While bullying and violence in schools are recognised problems with known impacts on children's physical and mental health, their underlying causes, which have not yet been fully examined, include social and gender standards (Segura & Carcedo, 2020).

Moreover, gender violence in schools is rarely documented and is less frequently acknowledged as a significant issue in young children (Evans et al., 2021). Therefore, prospects for its prevention and for an efficient intervention may be hampered by a lack of understanding of gender-based violence in childhood and very early in life (Doni, 2021). In this sense, schools are the perfect scenarios to promote prevention of gender-based violence and abuse, as they can provide students the skills they need to identify risky behaviours and lessen them (Devries et al., 2017). Thus, determining efficient methods to stop gender-based violence in the first years of school is crucial. 

In order to guarantee that all children get high-quality education through violence-free schools, the goal of this research is to undertake a comprehensive assessment of treatments to prevent gender-based violence in childhood, especially from 3 to 12 years old, inclusive. The research questions related to the objective of identifying successful interventions and programs in preventing and overcoming gender-based violence from early years were stated:

• What programs and interventions have been implemented in school settings to prevent and reduce gender-based violence?

• Have they been successful? What effects have they achieved?

• What are their main characteristics?

To accomplish this goal a systematic review was carried out. By using this methodological technique, we have carefully systematised and analysed  the  scientific literature on t effective early interventions to identify and and prevent gender-based violence in schools.

This research is part of a larger research project called CHILDPRO: It is never too early to prevent gender-based violence: identifying and overcoming risk behaviours in childhood, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Spain. To carry out the review, we followed the PRISMA statement (Rethlefsen et al., 2021) in order to guarantee transparency, validity, replicability and updateability in this study. The protocol for conducting a systematic review consists of the following: defining purpose of the study; narrowing the search strategy; literature search in the selected databases; screening according to inclusion and exclusion criteria; quality assessing of publication; gathering relevant information; synthesising of studies; and writing up. The inclusion and exclusion criteria were established, with the aim of including g only the literature relevant to the purpose of this study: Educational intervention from 3 to 12 years old (inclusive). Intervention focused on preventing or reducing gender-based violent behaviour. Interventions with impact/outcome evaluation. Exclusion criteria (meeting one of these criteria implies the publication is excluded): Intervention at school age above 12 years old or prior to infant stage (3 years old). Intervention outside the school setting. Intervention not referring explicitly to gender-related violence. Then, a total of 13 studies selected from SCOPUS, Web of Science, ERIC and PsychINFO were examined in detail considering aspects related to (a) the relevance of the study to the scope of the review and (b) methodological reliability aspects such as the appropriateness of the method and data collection, claims and evidence. Several success criteria have been established after examining the primary features of the therapies as well as their outcomes. These elements are frequently featured in many interventions that enhance the recognition, prevention, or reduction of gender-based violence in the setting of schools.

The Intervention is Incorporated into the Curriculum at the School The integration of the intervention into the school curriculum so that it is more than a one-time or occasional activity for the kids' academic activities is one of the repeating features observed in the investigated programmes. Therefore, 12 out of 13 articles [Reference number: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9,11,12,13,14] contain curriculum adjustments. Student Involvement, Conversation, and Co-Creation Consideration of the students themselves while developing activities and programmes for the prevention and reduction of gender-based violence is another feature of interventions that is commonly present. Different studies [2,3,4,7,8,9,11,12] discuss how they actively participated and listened to their voices and priorities. Safe School Environment It is critical that the school be a safe space where supportive social interactions can be developed in order to facilitate conversations and reflections about violence. For instance, Smothers and Smothers programme (2011) primarily relied on two crucial elements: (a) the integration of sexual abuse prevention interventions (b) fostering healthy relationships. Also, the foundation of Ollis et al. (2021) is developing relationships that are respectful and equal. Similarly, the programme of McLaughlin et al. (2015) builds on establishing safe settings through participation and discourse. Examining Scientific Proof of Effective Programs and Accurate Models The programmes examined in this systematic review were created using both strategies that have historically proven successful in preventing gender-based violence [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,11,13,14] as well as theories on how to do so. Engaging Community Agents Who Are Relevant The community [3,6,8,11], family, parents, and tutors [3,7,8,13], experts [8,9,11], victims of gender-based violence [7], or health workers [3] have all been considered in several interventions, along with teachers [7,11], head teachers, school leaders [9,11], and even politicians [11], as important agents for overcoming gender based violence in schools.

1. Banyard, V. L., et al. (2019). Evaluating a gender transformative violence prevention program for middle school boys: A pilot study. Children and Youth Services Review, 101. 2. Chung, Y., & Huang, H.H. (2021). Cognitive-based interventions break gender stereotypes in kindergarten children. IJERPH 18(24). 3. Dagadu, N.A. et al. (2022). Fostering gender equality and reproductive and sexual health among adolescents: Results from a quasi-experimental study in Northern Uganda. BMJ Open. 4. Devries, K.M., Knight, L., & Allen, E. (2017). Does the Good Schools Toolkit Reduce Physical, Sexual and Emotional Violence, and Injuries, in Girls and Boys equally? A Cluster-Randomised Controlled Trial. Preventive Sciences, 18. 5. Doni, E. (2021). Exposing Preschool Children to Counterstereotypical Professional Role Models Using Audiovisual Means: A Small Study in a Preschool in Greece. Early Childhood Education Journal, 49. 6. Edwards, K.M., et al. (2022). Effectiveness of a sexual assault self-defense program for American Indian girls. Journal of interpersonal violence, 37. 7. Kågesten, A.E., et al. (2021). Young people’s experiences with an empowerment-based behavior change intervention to prevent sexual violence in Nairobi informal settlements: A qualitative study. Global Health: Science and Practice, 9(3). 8. McLaughlin, C., Swartz, S. Cobbett, M., & Kiragu, S. (2015). Inviting Backchat: How schools and communities in Ghana, Swaziland and Kenya support children to contextualise knowledge and create agency through sexuality education. International Journal of Educational Development, 41. 9. Ollis, D., et al. (2022). ‘Bulldozers aren’t just for boys’: respectful relationships education challenges gender bias in early primary students. International Journal of Health Promotion and Education, 60(4). 10. Rethlefsen, M.L., et al. (2021) PRISMA-S: An extension to the PRISMA Statement for Reporting Literature Searches in Systematic Reviews. Systematic Review 10. 11. Sarnquist, C., et al. (2019). A protocol for a cluster-randomized controlled trial testing an empowerment intervention to prevent sexual assault in upper primary school adolescents in the informal settlements of Nairobi, Kenya. BMC public health, 19. 12. Segura, A. M., & Carcedo, R. J. (2020). Effectiveness of a prevention program for gender-based intimate partner violence at a Colombian primary school. Frontiers in psychology,10. 13. Smothers, M.K., & Smothers, D.B. (2011). A sexual assault primary prevention model with diverse urban youth. Journal of child sexual abuse, 20(6). 14. Taylor, B.G., Mumford, E.A., & Stein, N.D. (2015). Effectiveness of “shifting boundaries” teen dating violence prevention program for subgroups of middle school students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 56(2).