Violence has always been a prominent issue in every school, in every grade and any student can suffer from this. Every student has either witnessed or been victims of physical or sexual assault, although less than fifty percent of students have reported it according to CBC. Many different reasons why students do not denounce these assaults are tied to the reactions of both the school system and their peers. Often times, when these situations happen, the victims are afraid that nothing will be done for them and are afraid of the repercussions they will experience after telling their story. The fear comes from being called a “snitch” by their classmates, says Jayden Trudell, a victim of physical violence. Boys and girls experience a different type of violence that is not only restricted to physical violence but also sexual assault or harassment. High school students must depend on themselves and their parents most of the time to get through these circumstances.
The government’s lack of database on violence in schools encourages the education system to deny and reject any allegations made against a student for fear that it will tarnish the schools’ and/or the students’ reputation. There is no concrete number of how many violent incidents happen in school which leaves both the judicial and education system, with the idea that nothing is happening inside a space that is supposed to be safe. It is easier for schools and the administration to take no action when the reports on violent incidents are not accessible to the public, it gives them an advantage since no one has information on these incidents that can be used against them.
Without the parents’ knowledge of what is happening in their children’s schools, it also makes it difficult for the victims to speak on their experiences. The parents that are interviewed in the short CBC documentary are aware that the police is often at their children’s schools but have no further information explaining why they are there or if anyone in danger, including their own kids. The fact that schools withhold this information from the parents reveals that even the schools are not properly equipped or trained to track every violent incident in school. Regardless, even when a student comes forward and talks to an adult that is supposed to be a trustworthy person, the school does not take action to protect the victims or punish the people responsible for these assaults.
Girls in high school suffer mostly from sexual assault, unwanted sexual contact, and are called degrading names. High schools often claim that students are not adults but when a situation like rape happens, the girls are expected to deal with it on their own, find therapy and even act like nothing has happened. One in four girls in high school “face unwanted touching and grabbing” and three in five girls do not report the sexual violence experienced in school, and less than fifty percent of sexual violence incidents are reported. In comparison to boys, they use violence to portray their strength and assert their masculinity, “this contact becomes highly ritualized and sometimes aggressive” (Kimmel 167). Because of this idea that masculinity comes from strength, they are usually victims of physical assault and suffer at the hands of other boys, which may most likely be boys in their classroom. This leads us to assume that the teachers are not protecting their students within their classes, and once they leave those four walls, the victims are even more prone to bullying outside of class times, times where no adults are present and boys are the most vulnerable. Since the government nor the educational system keep track of the violence in schools, it leads the bullies to use weapons other than their fists: forty one percent of boys experience physical violence in school and one in five boys are threatened with weapons. Both boys and girls are left unprotected by the school system, the teachers, the administration and the judicial system.
In order to decrease the violence in schools and to start acting accordingly to every different situation, schools must first talk to their students before making any decisions. The parents should be notified of any incident in school, whether it is about lice, sexual assault or physical violence. The parents have the right to know if they are sending their children to a safe place. By acknowledging the victims and keeping track of the violence present in schools, the boards would take better actions to support the victims and penalize the person inflicting harm. Safety plans and supporting movements like the “SlutWalk” would improve the students’ trust in their administration and decrease the number of assault cases.
References:
Kilmartin, Christopher. “No Man Is an Island: Men in Relationships.” The Masculine Self, Sloan Pub., 2010.
McGuire, Jennifer. “Why CBC Started Looking into Violence in Schools | CBC News.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 9 Nov. 2019, www.cbc.ca/news/canada/school-violence-editors-note-1.5331402.
“School Violence: How to Fight for Safer Schools.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, gem.cbc.ca/media/marketplace/season-47/episode-4/38e815a-011d8f47088.
Lovers and Fighters | Section 22 