Schools tell us that their top priority is to protect us, but do they really? Students have been reporting sexual harassment and assault for years. However, most pleas for help are ignored and many students feel as if they have to act in defense of themselves rather than getting an adult to help. As children, students are told to report anything and everything and that someone will help them, but oftentimes many feel they will not be believed if they reach out to administration or staff members.
I got to sit down with a student who feels as if the system in place has failed them. To protect this student’s privacy, names will not be given, but I will share what they have told me.
The student at Gloucester High School recently told their friends there was somebody sexually harassing them. A teacher overheard and decided to report what had been said, despite the student being scared to share what had happened with the school, as the student worried the harassment would not be taken seriously.
After a series of meetings, the student shared that the school’s main message was that the student, “shouldn’t have said or done things to get [themself] into that situation.”
“I felt de-victimized and powerless,” the student shared.
Despite how this situation was handled, there are protocols that are in place that are meant to protect students in cases such as this. Whenever sexual assault and sexual harrasment is reported, law enforcement is supposed to be notified along with the school resource officers, at least here at GHS. The student resource officers would then notify their division’s Title IX coordinator. The student who reported the incident will be met with and the family of all parties involved will be notified. Then law enforcement and the school will go through their own investigative process. Anyone involved will be offered to give a written statement if they decline, notes will try to be taken by whoever is interviewing them.
When talking with GHS principal Stefan Mygas, he explained that the topic is sensitive so one has to be, “very delicate about it.”
“These are traumatic things people are reporting on,” said Mygas.
I absolutely agree with this statement, which is why it is disheartening that the harassment that my interviewee experienced was brushed to the side.
Mygas also informed me that part of the investigative process would be to offer protection for the victim. For example, if the students were in the same class or on the same bus, the school would do its best to keep them apart. This can be tricky though, as he explained, “you have to maintain confidentiality and protect all parties.”
When asked how frequently sexual assault and harrassment gets reported, Mygas said it “is pretty uncommon but I can tell you when we do get a report of it we have to investigate it very thoroughly.”
Upon further discussion he informed me that the punishment given to the student who has sexually assaulted another student would be to immediately have an expulsion hearing as well as have legal consequences. Sexual harassment is also a very serious violation and would result in multiple days of suspension.
“All of the reports are handled and taken very seriously. We follow all of these different legal guidelines that we have, all of the different entities that have to get notified do get notified and the safety of the kids at this school is very important,” he said.
That being said, I am a student and I am angry. I cannot truly help students like the one I interviewed in these situations, I can only offer a place for them to get their story out. While the system’s intention is to help us, there are plenty of instances where systems have failed individuals and groups of people.
