A group of victim-survivors on Thursday, Sept. 8, welcomed the recent move of the Department of Education (DepEd) to address alleged sexual abuse and harassment in schools.
Enough is Enough (EIE), in a statement, welcomed the initiatives of DepEd which include the filing of charges against identified teachers in Bacoor National High School (BNHS), the creation of a DepEd hotline for victim-survivors, and the openness of the agency to meet with the group and discuss their concerns.
In particular, EIE welcomes the development of DepEd filing administrative charges against five out of the seven teachers of BNHS regarding the investigated cases of sexual abuse and misconduct.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2022/09/08/deped-files-formal-charges-vs-5-cavite-teachers-accused-of-sexual-harassment/
In a press conference on Sept. 8, EIE disclosed that based on its tally, “there are no less than 11 campus predators at BNHS.”
While it welcomes the DepEd’s move, EIE pointed out that it does “have any idea how the investigation was conducted, and who among the eleven were found out to be culpable by the DepEd.”
Meanwhile, EIE also welcomed DepEd’s plans to have its hotline for victim-survivors of campus abuse and harassment to make it accessible on a national scope.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2022/09/08/deped-opens-direct-lines-for-victims-of-sexual-abuse-harassment-in-schools/
“We hope that this is a permanent fixture and not a knee-jerk reaction that will not be sustained once the controversies die down,” the group said.
EIE also expressed hope that only “qualified individuals in psycho-social support should be part of its team and not enablers of predators that will only gaslight victims and exacerbate their trauma.”
If pursued, EIE said that the DepEd hotline is the “good first step” to address the menace haunting the schools.
“But there is much more that needs to be reformed and innovated in order to make the youth protected and empowered,” it added.
Moreover, EIE recognized the receptiveness of the DepEd in its request for a closed-door dialogue with Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte. “We will write to her office at the soonest possible time,” the group said.
EIE is an organization of victim-survivors from BNHS, Philippine High School for the Arts, and Far Eastern University Senior High School among others, and gender justice advocates.
The group is pushing to charge all predators with administrative and criminal cases, the revocation of their professional licenses by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), blacklisting predators to prevent them from victimizing more students, and establishment of a national registry of sex offenders.
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https://mb.com.ph/2022/09/07/deped-ched-urged-to-decisively-address-widespread-cases-of-sexual-abuse-harassment-in-schools/