Following on from the above tips on how you can shield your students and protect them from the dangers of the internet and possible harassment, here are some tips on how you can act if you become aware that a student has not managed on their own and is involved in some kind of online abuse. There have been several incidents in our country recently where teachers have noticed that something was wrong with some children and there was sexual abuse in their family or friends. If a teacher is trained, because he is with his pupils for several hours, he can contribute substantially to identifying these cases. Below are some simple guidelines that should stimulate teachers/teachers.
What if a teacher recognises signs of abuse during the briefing? How should he/she react?
The advance creation of a “safety net” by parents, teachers and friends of a child who is likely to be a victim of sexual or physical abuse is certainly the best solution. But this is at the level of the ideal, as parents may deny a situation or not have time due to work and teachers/teachers at school may be overwhelmed by the large number of such cases, especially when there is no cooperation with the home. The onus de facto falls on their friends, who should be properly trained to raise the alarm to the victims’ carers when necessary. But what happens when their friends are also similar children, say for example shy, and emotionally unable to react? How can we build another circle of protection that reduces the likelihood of such occurrences? Overall empowerment of school students and creating responsible children to report incidents that come to their attention, even if anonymously, on a school-specific platform would help intervention and early response. Of course, this is not proactive, and this is where we need to focus, without overlooking organised response.
