The failing treatment of denunciations made by students in certain secondary schools has made headlines in recent months. Bills are currently under study to better regulate the complaint process. Following the filing of a lawsuit against the Vanguard School, The duty consulted experts to analyze the situation.
“There are principles that cannot be derogated from and that are clear,” says Martin Maltais, a professor specializing in school administration at the Université du Québec à Rimouski. Mr. Maltais finds it hard to understand how the management of the Vanguard school could come to the conclusion that excluding Léa from her course and imposing a psychological follow-up on her was the best thing to do.
“Withdrawing a child from a school environment because he reveals discomfort is not a recommended practice or recommendable in any way whatsoever”, specifies Mr. Maltais, whether the allegations are founded or not.
He also believes that all teachers must avoid at all costs finding themselves in a situation that could leave room for interpretation. “We are in a position of authority with minors who are in a situation of dependence in terms of training. You cannot put yourself in a context where, in terms of sexuality, you would be at a level of proximity where you could make gestures that could be confusing from near or far,” says the man who forms daily education executives.
Martin Maltais believes that parents of students in private schools should be given the opportunity as soon as possible to have access to some form of recourse in the event of a conflict with the management. “Currently, for private educational establishments, there are none,” he regrets.
A necessary reform
Quebec’s Minister of Education, Jean-François Roberge, tabled Bill 9 on the National Student Ombudsman last year, aimed at improving the handling of all student complaints. Mr. Roberge recently proposed a series of amendments to his bill, redefining the role of the Student Ombudsman, in order to give him “increased power in matters of preventing and combating sexual violence”, and this even in private establishments.
These changes come as TVA recently reported that young people from Sources high school in Montreal, who were allegedly sexually assaulted by a student, said they had received no help from their management. She would have asked them to be quiet instead.
At Saint-Laurent secondary school, where three coaches have been accused of sexual crimes against two students, the management’s omerta has also been denounced, recently reported The Press.
The changes proposed by the minister do not go far enough, however, according to the collective The voice of young people counts. In its brief submitted to the National Assembly last January, the collective urges the government to put in place a law aimed at preventing and combating sexual violence in primary and secondary schools, similar to that in force in universities. .
A bill to this effect was tabled on October 21, 2021 by Christine Labrie, MNA for Sherbrooke and responsible for education at Québec solidaire. This would require institutions to have a policy and have it validated. “It’s not enough to have a complaints process in place. It is a question of staff training, prevention, awareness within the walls of the school, “says Mr.me Labrie in interview with The duty.
Following denunciations, the Center de services scolaire de Montréal (CSDM) adopted in 2018 the very first intervention protocols on sexualized behavior and sexual violence in schools. But the implementation of this type of protocol remains at the discretion of the various school service centres.
According to Statistics Canada (2014), 55% of victims of sexual assault in Canada are minors. “You cannot have schools that are not adapted to meet the needs of victims of sexual violence when there are thousands of victims there. We cannot afford to escape them, ”says the member for Sherbrooke.