The role of teachers and the approach to situations of child/teen sexual abuse
“Beatings, sexual abuse, insults denigrate, are terribly unpleasant realities, so it is very possible that we want to ignore them. But it is not only about these, there is also the negligence that is the absence of care, the inaction towards the needs of the children based on indifference” (Barudy, 1998).
The Convention on the Rights of the Child approved in 1989 and ratified by Chile in 1990, recognizes and assumes the commitment to provide all children (under 18 years of age) with the rights and principles established therein, being its fundamental pillars are non-discrimination, the best interest of the child, development and protection, survival and participation. In this context, it is the family, with the support and collaboration of society and the State, which must protect and safeguard the rights of children throughout their development. In this sense, the school institution acquires an important role given its educational role, constituting itself as one of the main training agents. It is she who must ensure a peaceful, careful and inclusive coexistence, assuming a position of rejection of all forms of mistreatment and abuse of children. This article invites us to reflect on the protective role that adults in the educational community should assume, in situations of mistreatment and sexual abuse that could affect children, inside and outside the school space. It also intends to encourage awareness among the actors and promote an educational environment that is oriented towards the early detection and prevention of sexual abuse in all its forms.
Definitions and basic concepts about child abuse and sexual abuse.
Child abuse is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the abuse and neglect of children under 18 years of age, including physical and psychological abuse, negligence, exploitation, sexual abuse or any event that may cause harm to the health, development and dignity of children, endangering their survival, in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power. (WHO, 2009)
The high rates of intra-family violence towards minors revealed by the “4th Study on Child Abuse” carried out by UNICEF, indicate that 71% of children in Chile are victims of some type of violence on the part of their parents. and 25.9% receive severe physical abuse (UNICEF. 2013). In this sense, the greatest violation that a child can suffer towards his body in development and dignity, corresponds to child sexual abuse (ASI) in which there is a factor of inequality manifested in the “abuse of power”, derived from the “coercion and asymmetry” between the aggressor and the victim.
According to the definition given by UNICEF, ASI corresponds to any action that involves a boy or girl in activities of a sexual or erotic nature, which they do not understand or are not prepared to carry out or freely consent to. In a situation of abuse, the adult uses strategies of seduction, blackmail, psychological manipulation and/or use of physical force, in order to satisfy their sexual needs, exposing or subjecting a minor to touching, rubbing, kissing, exposing to pornography, masturbation, vaginal, anal or oral penetration, among others. (Vicariate for Education, 2012)
The Chilean psychiatrist Jorge Barudy (1999), an expert in child abuse and resilience, reports the existence of 3 types of ASI:
· Intrafamily sexual abuse: Sexual assault committed by a family member, also known as incest.
· Extra-family sexual abuse by an acquaintance: Sexual assault carried out by an adult who is part of the victim’s social circle, that is, he is a family acquaintance.
· Extra-family sexual abuse by strangers: Sexual assault by a stranger who has no close relationship with the victim, and uses force and terror to gain access to it.
From the foregoing, it is important to point out that the damage caused to the victim is mainly related to the level of closeness of the victim to the perpetrator, being greater when it comes to someone who belongs to the closest circle of the abused child, as well also to the frequency of the abuse and the time elapsed before the disclosure.
For Barudy, there are 3 characteristic characters in an abusive system. In the first place, the “abuser”, who is the controlling, manipulative character who exercises the abuse of power thanks to the existing hierarchy in the system. Secondly, there is the “victim”, a boy or girl who is in an unequal, vulnerable and dependent position on the abuser. And finally one or third parties, who are those who usually find out about this system and can be of great help to the victim by stopping the dynamics. However, it is the latter who, on a daily basis, are terrified and generally do not intervene, becoming accomplices in the act.
By placing ourselves in this abusive system where there is an abuser, a victim and a third party, it is possible to distinguish the following phases or stages:
· Seduction phase: There is a fun and/or desired activity that takes place within a daily framework. A manipulation begins on the part of the abuser, in the dependency and confidence of the minor.
· Phase of abusive interaction: It transitions gradually and progressively to erotic content. It manifests itself with kisses, caresses and sexual games, to continue with touching.
· Secret phase: The “law of silence” appears, blackmail and threats from the abuser to his victim. The case is even more serious if the boy or girl experiences some pleasant sensation, which allows the abuser to further involve him or her in the abusive act and hold him or her responsible for it.
· Disclosure phase: This can be intentional where the boy or girl decides to tell what is happening, or accidental when being surprised by a third party or due to the symptoms that make it possible to disclose and report the fact.
· Phase of repression: Here the adult or some members of the family reprimand the boy or girl, causing a retraction of the facts.
This brief conceptual review accounts for the level of aggressiveness and violence that exists in this type of abuse and the physical, psychological and emotional damage to which a minor is subjected when he is abused, either repeatedly or isolated. The trauma caused by ASI generates serious short-, medium-, and long-term sequelae that, if not treated in time, could lead to behavioral problems such as drug and alcohol use, self-injurious behavior, generalized fear, aggressiveness, guilt, and shame. , isolation, depression, suicidal ideation, decreased school performance, eating disorders, inappropriate sexual behavior and even over-adaptation and passivity among others.
One of the aspects revealed by the latest UNICEF study on child abuse is that in the last 20 years there have been important changes in terms of the percentage of children who have been violated. Between the first study carried out in 1994 and the last one in 2013, the percentage of serious physical abuse has decreased. The foregoing demonstrates that child abuse is an avoidable and modifiable behavior, so it is possible to educate not only children, but also the adults responsible for their care.
However, the figures do not express the real magnitude of the problem; they do not realize its seriousness and what the impact of an experience of abuse represents in the life of a minor. The traumatic effects that accompany it generally aggravate and perpetuate their role as victim in this dynamic, drastically affecting their psychosocial development. Therefore, it is imperative to increase preventive efforts, placing the responsibility for preventing abuse in the adults responsible for the care of children, especially within the family and the educational community.
The school establishment and its legal responsibilities regarding Child Sexual Abuse
In our country, the Criminal Procedure Code in its article 175, letter e) obliges directors, inspectors and teachers of educational establishments to report situations of sexual abuse that occurred inside or outside the school community against students and, according to article 176 of the same Code, the term to make the complaint is 24 hours from the moment in which it was made known. In this sense, it is clearly established that it is the duty of the educational establishment to provide the necessary help and protection to minors, safeguarding their physical and emotional integrity, even more so if we consider that the average age at which children experience the first situations of abuse, It is around the age of 8, when they have already started their school stage.
The school is a space where children stay for long periods of time and where interactions among peers and with other members of the community reveal different aspects of their personality and their way of relating to the world. In this way, it is possible to detect certain indicators that could give signs of an irregular situation in development, not only at a cognitive level, but also at an affective and social level.