Nation

PROTESTS VS HARASSMENT AT QCAFI FLOOD SOCMED

/ 4 August 2020

SEVERAL female high school students from the Quezon City Academy Foundation Inc. have accused the school’s employees of sexual harassment on social media under the hashtag #QCADoBetter.

The complainants urged the school administration to be accountable for the reported 14 cases of sexual harassment allegedly involving the school’s staff.

More alleged victims have surfaced and bared their ordeals.

The posts include screen shots of alleged inappropriate private messages of teachers to students and stories of faculty members’ supposed attempts to have relationships with minors.

A former student said #QCADoBetter came about following the alumni’s tweets on their opinions regarding the academic freeze.

Soon, alleged victims of sexual harassment started tweeting about their ordeals and posting screen shots of the alleged incidents.

Former students have released a petition asking concerned authorities to address the issue and the ‘fascist culture of silence’ inside the school premises. They also claimed that sexual harassment has always been a pressing matter at the QCAFI.

“We, the students and alumni of Quezon City Academy Foundation, Inc., call for a systematic change regarding the currently surfacing issues of sexual harassment and of a fascist culture that silences victims into submission. We call for justice to be served for the victims who kept silent for a long time because of the culture that is propagated by the academy that failed them and their well-being,” the former students said in their petition.

On August 2, QCFAI president, Florentina C. Gonzales issued a public letter on Facebook saying they are investigating the allegations.

“QCFAI has organized an investigation team to look into the allegations against certain school personnel. We are also putting safeguards and policies in place to make sure the school is a safe place for everyone, especially the students,” President Florentina C. Gonzales said in a statement.

“Please know that we have the students’ best interests at heart and are committed to making QCFAI a better place for everyone,” she added.

The POST tried to conduct an in depth interview of the school officials, but they preferred to just read their official statement.