Senate panel to investigate alleged sexual harassment in schools
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate panel on women, children, family relations and gender equality is set to investigate next week allegations of sexual harassment raised by students against teachers and staff of various schools.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who chairs the committee, said Wednesday that the panel will investigate harassment and abuse allegations against teachers at Bacoor National High School in Cavite, St. Theresa’s College in Quezon City and the Philippine High School for the Arts in Laguna.
"Cases of violence, abuse and harassment certainly do not happen in these schools alone. Often victim-survivors do not report because their abusers are persons of authority. How many more of our students are suffering in silence? We can’t just let this happen," Hontiveros said in a statement partly in Filipino.
She stressed that schools should be following the Safe Spaces Act, which she principally authored, and that students should not be forced to take their grievances to social media because their teachers or administrators are not listening to their complaints.
"Sexual harassment cases brought up to educational institutions’ notice must be resolved in a transparent, pro-active, and timely manner in order to ensure the swift delivery of justice," Hontiveros said.
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House review of implementation of Safe Spaces Act sought
Meanwhile, Rep. Arlene Brosas (Gabriela party-list) called for a review of the Safe Spaces Act amid what she called an "alarming" trend of sexual harassment cases by faculty members against students.
"While we have an existing law regarding handling cases of sexual harassment, it is clearly not enough. There is a need to review the Safe Spaces Act and ensure that policies are being implemented properly in schools," Brosas said in a statement on Tuesday.
Brosas said policies must ensure that teachers found guilty of sexually harassing students should be stripped of their professional license and barred from getting near schools.
"Moreover, we are pushing for a national database of convicted sexual predators to ensure that education institutions are well-informed not to hire sex offenders," she continued.
Hontiveros echoed this, saying "teachers and perpetrators who harass students have no business remaining in schools in the company of young students and must be made to answer for the consequences of their actions."
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