TEACHER IN THE EYES OF EVERYONE, HARASSER IN THE EYES OF THE VICTIM
Sexual harassments that occur in schools have been normalized. So much so, they are joked upon and are never taken seriously. This is because of an oppressive culture, where prejudice and low awareness are common.
Illustration: Argjira Kukaj
On a regular Monday, students lined up in the school gym and got prepared for an ‘attractive’ class. Girls and boys wore white t-shirts and began their class. The professor watched the lined-up girls with much enjoyment and told them “start playing volleyball, I will improve you if you make mistakes”, while laughing. The students looked at each other with a feeling now very known to each of them. They looked at each other with compassion because, like many other classes, today was going to be the same.
The volleyball match began. With the first passing of the ball, he got close to the student and said “you didn’t throw the ball correctly, let me teach you how”. The student, without the chance to even speak, stopped in shock. The professor quickly caught her hand and demonstrated the throw.
In a moment the professor put his hand on the shoulder of the girl and started commenting on all sorts of things, touching her and saying the most inappropriate words. The student was uncomfortable, the same for all her friends, and you could see that in their faces. The girl who dreamed about becoming a volleyball player, will now walk away as soon as she can from that gym. A cloud of comfortless energy captured all the girls there, while the boys were laughing together with the professor. They were aware of what they were doing, yet they kept doing it.
This class, like all others, came to an end. But it is the fear, the anxiety and the feelings of unsafety that will follow these girls in their futures and will hardly end.
I believe each one of us has heard or has lived through something like this, though many cases go unreported like the one I mentioned. The school is a place where everyone should feel safe, comfortable and themselves. But these situations prove the opposite. They portray the school as a place of abuse and harassment. They show that education institutions have touched the filthy hands of the patriarchy. They also show that the supposed nest of learning and education has taken a very different direction.
Sexual harassments that occur in schools have been normalized. So much so, they are joked upon and are never taken seriously. This is because of an oppressive culture, where prejudice and low awareness are common. I have even heard devastating comments by people within the protest organized by high schoolers. Protest this while being peaceful, it was very important.
We continue to face low information levels or no information at all regarding sex education. Lack of sex education, other than causing confusion and misinformation on how to identify sexual harassment also leads to lower reportings of these occurrences. A person can be a victim and not be aware of what harassment is, they just know that this is happening to them, makes them uncomfortable. Very often, victims do not feel safe to report these cases because their voices will be neglected, and their harasser will not get the proper punishment, like it has been seen in multiple situations over the years.
The harassment of a young girl in school, proved once again that the competent institutions and the qualified individuals do not give much importance and attention to these cases. Conversations about this topic bring to mind cases like the one where a school director had harassed many girls over a long period of time and all he got was temporary suspension. This further demotivates victims from reporting their situations.
Every day we see someone who has violated the safety of a student and nothing gets done to make it right. This is why something should be done about stopping sexual harassment in schools but not only. Ways and safe places to report these crimes should be offered within schools. Therapists and other social professionals should be hired by schools to maintain friendly relations with students. There should be awareness campaigns on all communication channels to prevent harassments and sexual violence.
As soon as we take actions as a society, the sooner schools will have the safety, warmth and comfort that they lack.
About the author: Rudina Bulliqi, 16 year old from Prishtina, follows classes in High School.
This grant is supported by the Balkan Trust for Democracy, a project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States
