A group of students are once again calling on Education Minister François Roberge to point out that legislation aimed at reforming the handling of complaints in schools will not be sufficient to address issues of sexual violence in schools.
While Bill 9 which seeks to create such a position will soon enter the home stretch before it is enacted, the collective The voice of young people counts gave a press conference to the National Assembly on Tuesday to again ask the government to do more.
In particular, they demand that the issue of sexual violence in school be the subject of a structured law that focuses on this problem, rather than relying on the Law on bullying and school violence that does not meet expectations.
My friend was sexually assaulted at a student’s school. He found himself in the office worker facing his assailant who gave him a letter of apology. This was the consequence after the first incident under the internal protocol laid down by the Bullying Actdescribed Kenza Chahidi, member of the collective.
” My friend was forced to accept this letter and the worker mentioned that he had to accept the apology from the abuser because he knew the student and it seemed like he was a good kid and he would never repeat it. “
A victim of sexual violence at age 14, Chanisse McCombe, now 17, wonders: When a teen is forced to perform oral sex in the locker room or when a teen receives comments about their breasts from their teacher in front of the whole class, or when a teen is repeatedly touched their butt, will the Student Ombudsman really be able to intervene with the victim and the aggressor?
He recalls that sexual violence against young people is common and not an exception. According to statistics, in 2019, people under the age of 18 accounted for 62% of victims of recorded police sexual offenses and 46% of victims of sexual assault.
Attacked by the collective inappropriate protocols and the lack of appropriate resources.
QS and the QP in support
Without opposing the creation of a Student Ombudsman position, Québec solidaire and the Parti Québécois supported the collective approach and were present at their press conference.
” We have taken a big step in Quebec in creating a special court on sexual and domestic violence, with a focused approach to support. This same philosophy should exist at the school level and adapt to the reality of young people. “
Achieved victories in the long struggle of the youthis summary by solidarity deputy Christine Labrie, referring to the expedited process for handling sexual violence complaints and the specific training of student advocates on this issue.
He stressed, however, that this issue should not be covered by policies related to the Act relating to school violence and bullying, policies that originated 10 years ago and unfortunately never produced the expected resulthe says.
At the time of publication, it was not yet possible to collect comments from Education Minister François Roberge.
Filed in November 2021, Bill 9 on the National Student Ombudsman proposes to create an independent body, outside the school network, under the guidance of a National Ombudsman. His office will oversee the regional advocates responsible for reviewing complaints.
Source: Radio-Canada
