Country watch: Tanzania.

Previous narrative research by TANESA found rural primary school students in Mwanza Region to be sexually active from the age of 12 years. The Regional Education Office established a program to protect primary school girls from sexual abuse following 1995-96 reports to the rural School AIDS Committees (SACs) that female students were being sexually harassed and abused by primary school teachers. The program involves training selected female teachers to be guardians who help students with social, sexual, and reproductive health problems. The women, at least 35 years old, are selected by school board members and other teachers. One-day training workshops began in February 1996 and by October 1996, 185 female guardians had been trained in the 63 schools of Mwanza District and 122 of the 156 schools in Magu District. Workshop objectives and activities are described. Some program successes have already been achieved.