It’s only now that a vice that has thrived under the endorsement of silence and victimization in our girls’ schools has come to light. Cases of sexual abuse in our schools have for a long time gone unanswered under the guise of “handling the matter internally” while the perpetrator is let loose to prey on yet another victim.
Recent cases of both Alliance Girls and Kaplong Girls schools have brought out the danger our children face while in school for us all to see. Has anyone been charged in court? None that I know of, except for the case of Alliance Girls where the suspected predator was sent on mandatory leave by the TSC.
This two isolated cases represent a wide spread problem that has been let loose for far too long. How many other girls must fall victim to sexual predators before we stamp our foot down and say enough is enough. Schools should be a safe environment where students are nurtured, protected and guided, but instead they have become hunting grounds for this evil.
After reading the investigative piece on Alliance Girls, it is as clear as day that the teacher, one Peter Albert Ayiro, had been at this for far too long. Attempts to report the matter to the school authorities were met with promises of “handling matters internally” while he continued to prey on even more students. What caught my eye was that the cases span back several decades.Decades that the school has seen changes in leadership and even teaching staff except the perpetrator. Why didn’t any principal take action? Are we to believe that no female teacher in the school was aware of such dealings?
It’s my belief that in every girl school, the number of female staff members is higher and vice versa in boy schools, then what have the female teachers done to try and protect our girls? The silence is deafening. Many female tutors stand by as colleagues make sexual comments, grope minors, or make suspicious late night calls after evening preps. And when victims do speak up, they are shamed. If this is how matters are handled, then why aren’t the male teachers shamed too.
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Nyiva Nkirote, a sexual and reproductive health advocate believes that school counselling must be reformed- it should be independent and led by trained mental health professionals, not unqualified teachers, often CU patrons, who mock rather than support.
As a country, we are already fighting many battles to see the girl child prosper; talk of gender based violence, femicide, rape, menstrual stigma and teen pregnancies just to name a few. This new crisis in our schools stretches the fight for human rights.
As a society, let’s not normalize sexual abuse in our schools. These are little girls, our students, our daughters and sisters- we shouldn’t be silent as they suffer in schools under rogue teachers who seek to take advantage of their innocence. It is our duty to protect and speak out for them when they cannot. 30-day mandatory leave is not enough punishment!
In Nyiva Nkirote’s own words, “Let teachers who prey on students be called what they are: predators and defilers”.
By Khayoyo Ian
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