2024-10-08 04:35:51
In investigations carried out by the Public Ministry, it was confirmed that several institutions do not have the protocol for the detection of gender violence and 29 of these have not implemented sexual education programs this year, in compliance with directive 001 of 2022 of the Ministry of National Education.
One of the cases that was already reported took place in an Educational Institution in Neiva, where the board, after the investigation it carried out internally, announced the case and the Municipal Ombudsman suspended the teacher involved in an act of bullying.
It is believed that due to the power relationship, teacher-student, the victims would be afraid to file complaints, therefore there is under-registration.
Visits to educational facilities
In this sense and in the face of the alarming numbers of cases of harassment and sexual violence that continue to occur in educational environments and with the objective of verifying the effectiveness of the protocols for care and protection of the rights of students, the Attorney General’s Office The Nation carried out a second day of massive visits to more than 300 educational institutions throughout the country.
According to preliminary information, the control entity reported that in 2024, 1,515 cases of bullying and harassment, 610 cases of sexual violence and 399 situations of cyberbullying have been reported in the institutions visited, which underlines the urgent need to address this problematic, especially when a significant portion of the known situations involve students as alleged aggressors.
The alleged involvement of teachers or directors was also evident in 26% of the cases of school bullying and sexual violence identified, alerting a possible environment of vulnerability that should be treated with greater attention by educational authorities and parents.
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Failures of educational institutions
Now, the control entity verified that several institutions do not have the protocol for the detection of gender violence and 29 of these institutions have not implemented sexual education programs this year, in compliance with directive 001 of 2022 of the Ministry of Education. National.
The results reiterated the alerts that many of the schools visited still do not have a username and password in the Unified Information System for School Coexistence (SIUCE) or have not received adequate training, which could result in an under-recording of incidents of school or sexual harassment.
This day was coordinated by the Delegate for the Defense of the Rights of Children, Adolescents, the Family and Women, and was carried out with the support of regional, provincial and district attorneys, as well as Family judiciary; and made it possible to follow up on the recommendations made during the first day of visits, carried out on April 29, and to verify the functioning of the School Coexistence Committees, as well as the adequate implementation of the protocol for the detection of gender violence.
Furthermore, the Attorney General’s Office confirmed that the results of these visits will be used to issue recommendations to the competent entities, in order to adopt effective measures to prevent and address this sexual violence in the educational field and to carry out disciplinary actions. that are necessary in all cases where there is a place, so that safe school environments are guaranteed and free of discrimination and gender violence.
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The complaint
In this regard, last August, Lourdes Mateus, councilor of Neiva stated: “the Municipal Administration has reported to us 18 active cases of complaints, the first thing that must be clarified is that these events not only correspond to the year 2024, it is a accumulated over several periods, of processes that are ‘resting on their laurels’, they are not moving forward and to date there is not a single case of dismissal promoted by the Municipal Governments.”
The policy highlights that the processes are disciplinary-opened, but do not conclude within the Educational Institutions, which also have the authority to handle these cases.
“As the Municipal Administration has difficulties and delays in the face of these events, the other instances are, for example, the Neiva Person’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office, who have a legal figure called preferential control, over administrative actions. And if the Mayor’s Office does not act, the Public Ministry could take over the cases,” the lobbyist indicated.
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Anti-bullying strategies
Faced with this critical panorama that ‘shaken’ Neiva society, Karol Herrera, coordinator of the psychosocial team of the Neiva Education Secretariat, stated: “from the Municipal School Coexistence Committee, some dynamic pedagogical strategies have been established. , didactic, playful, which have allowed us to improve school coexistence, so that in educational institutions it is possible to be in tranquility, where each student feels safe, respected, valued.”
“Strategies aimed at ensuring that the same student has a healthy relationship with himself and with others, where the family is integrated into the education of their sons and daughters. On the other hand, an action plan was finalized to make the implementation of the law visible. of school coexistence, in the training of the exercise of human rights, the prevention and mitigation of school violence,” the official added.
Another of the plans of the Ministry of Education is the launch of the ‘School loves you’, which has the objective of promoting safe, healthy school environments, strengthening school coexistence and the socio-emotional well-being of the educational community.
“With three specific lines that are addressed in the 37 educational institutions. The first is support for the psychosocial service of all students. In the same Secretariat there is a team of psychologists who support the guidance teacher, provide first aid and help activate the comprehensive care route for coexistence situations. Second, the service to support the strengthening of family schools and three socio-occupational schools for grades 10 and 11 of high school and from the Office of Internal Disciplinary Control, does not evidence any case of alleged bullying.
“And to address the Victim Care Route, it can occur in three ways, the first is to show signs or indications of alleged aggression or bullying by a member of the educational community, second, any of them can report this type of incident. , and thirdly, when the situation occurs in flagrante delicto, or happens recently and there is physical or mental damage, there we rely on line 123 of the police quadrant,” the official explained.
Subsequently, the affected person is transferred to the facilities of a hospital center to be evaluated, then communication is established with the victims’ guardians.