BEIRUT:
Education Minister Hasan Diab said Wednesday that the ministry would soon
forward a draft law to the Cabinet to place counselors at every public school,
days after reports that a teacher allegedly sexually abused students shocked
the country.
“These
counselors should be watchful [of possible abuse],” Diab told The Daily Star.
“Nobody knows how often these incidents are happening, whether often or
infrequent, but we are raising awareness so that they will not happen in the
future.”
Pierre
Shalash, a 22-year-old teacher at St. Joseph Aintoura College in Mount Lebanon,
is facing charges of sexually abusing schoolgirls aged between 6 and 8 years
old. The school announced earlier in the week that it had fired him.
The
justice, social affairs and education ministers have also announced the
establishment of a special committee to draft a plan of action, with Social
Affairs Minister Wael Abu Faour promising a comprehensive and transparent
investigation into the case.
Shalash
is currently being investigated by the office for Preserving Public Order and
Conduct under the supervision of Mount Lebanon Public Prosecutor Judge Claude
Karam.
Maroun
Abu Sharaf, the lawyer representing the parents of the alleged victims, said
that the investigation would determine whether some of the students were raped.
“Physicians
will determine whether rape has really taken place, but for sure there were
rape attempts,” Abu Sharaf told The Daily Star.
Abu
Sharaf said that initially, he had been representing the families of nine
victims but that number had dropped to four after some families withdrew,
fearing the repercussions of the cases being publicized.
Abu
Sharaf said parents of the victims had been angered that the names of their
children had been made public Tuesday during the program “Inta Hurr” (“You are
free”), aired by MTV.
The
lawyer said that the TV program violated “the sacredness of childhood,” adding
that he would take “proper” legal action. “I informed the general prosecutor
and the public prosecutor of Mount Lebanon about this matter,” he said.
Encouraged
by the willingness of the students’ families to come forward, relatives of a
student in Jbeil who was allegedly the victim of sexual abuse months ago have
also now approached the judiciary.
According
to Ketty Sarouphim, an associate professor of psychology at the Lebanese
American University, sexual abuse and rape in particular can have long-term
effects, while the extent to which a child is affected depends on the child’s
personality, how resilient or vulnerable he or she is and the level of family
support.
“To
a large extent ... it depends on how they [children] interpret the event
itself,” she explained.
Sarouphim
said that if children interpret it as a trauma or as a violation of their
bodies, they might no longer be able to build trusting relationships.
“People
who are supposed to take care of them and protect them inflicted harm on them;
it is the most horrible thing,” she said.
Abused
children may also have problems being intimate with someone, according to
Sarouphim.
She
said that, unfortunately, some children might perceive abuse as an act of love
and not be aware of the impact.
Asked
what might drive a teacher to engage in such acts, Sarouphim said that Shalash,
if found guilty, is likely a pedophile. “It is no longer sexual harassment, but
pedophilia,” she said. “It is when men are aroused sexually by children; it’s a
real mental disorder.”
Sarouphim
said there is treatment but no cure for pedophilia.
Abu Faour said Tuesday that
the children involved in the case would receive psychological treatment.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Jun-07/176007-diab-announces-plan-for-school-counselors.ashx#axzz1x5XqZCLy
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