Brian Damage
06-22-2009, 03:13 PM
Advocates for a Liberty High School student, who was sexually assaulted last September, claim the school district is re-victimizing her by failing to make accommodations for her to finish ninth grade.
[...]
The girl's mother, [...] said her daughter missed school immediately after the incident then repeatedly throughout the year.
Some of the absences were due to meetings with police or the Northampton County Division of Children, Youth and Families, the mother said.
In late November, about two months after the assault, the girl's mother received notice that she was being taken to truancy court because her daughter was absent too many days.
"She had a week out of school to heal. They really didn't want to give her any more time than that," the victim's mother said. "I was like 'Are you kidding me?'"
"Are you kidding me" is an understatement. Sexual assault victims are often subject to further, more subtle abuse after their initial attack. Victims are often blamed for their situation, shunned by their peers and suffer the humiliation of not being believed. A sexual assault can have long lasting psychological effects on its victim. Every person handles these situations differently and for this girl to be hauled into truancy court shows a severe lack of compassion by the school district. Of course she's going to miss school. Perhaps understanding that and adjusting their policy would have been a better course of action.
Some good news has come out of the publicity generated by this story. The Bethlehem Area School District has been embarrassed into waiving summer school fees for the girl.
To this, Intershame.com offers the Bethlehem Area School District a sarcastic pat on the back. It shouldn't have taken a public shaming to motivate them into action.
http://intershame.com/on/Bethlehem_Area_School_District/
[...]
The girl's mother, [...] said her daughter missed school immediately after the incident then repeatedly throughout the year.
Some of the absences were due to meetings with police or the Northampton County Division of Children, Youth and Families, the mother said.
In late November, about two months after the assault, the girl's mother received notice that she was being taken to truancy court because her daughter was absent too many days.
"She had a week out of school to heal. They really didn't want to give her any more time than that," the victim's mother said. "I was like 'Are you kidding me?'"
"Are you kidding me" is an understatement. Sexual assault victims are often subject to further, more subtle abuse after their initial attack. Victims are often blamed for their situation, shunned by their peers and suffer the humiliation of not being believed. A sexual assault can have long lasting psychological effects on its victim. Every person handles these situations differently and for this girl to be hauled into truancy court shows a severe lack of compassion by the school district. Of course she's going to miss school. Perhaps understanding that and adjusting their policy would have been a better course of action.
Some good news has come out of the publicity generated by this story. The Bethlehem Area School District has been embarrassed into waiving summer school fees for the girl.
To this, Intershame.com offers the Bethlehem Area School District a sarcastic pat on the back. It shouldn't have taken a public shaming to motivate them into action.
http://intershame.com/on/Bethlehem_Area_School_District/