Children sometimes fight, even girls. Therefore, when a child comes home with a black eye and mutters under his breath that he got into a fight with Petya because he called him names, the parents, of course, are upset and maybe even call Petya’s parents, but they are not surprised. But what if a child claims that the teacher raised his hand against him? How to prevent psychological trauma and aversion to school in this case and where to turn? The Daily Baby author sat down with legal and psychological experts to find out.
From bruises to concussions
Violence by teachers in schools is, unfortunately, not a new phenomenon. Our parents also told how a high school student could get a pointer on her fingers for wearing makeup on her eyes, or a bully who disrupted a lesson would earn a slap on the head from the teacher. Times have changed - now every schoolchild has a smartphone, so such incidents do not remain within the walls of the school, but immediately go online, causing a public outcry.
Recently, cases of cruelty towards children by teachers have become more frequent. So, at the end of January this year, a teacher from Smolensk hit a student in the cafeteria because he decided to take home a half-eaten cutlet. In St. Petersburg, around the same days, a teacher hit a first-grader so hard that the child was hospitalized with a concussion. In the Moscow region, the teacher did not touch the children herself, but pitted them against each other. A first-grader was brutally beaten by her classmates with the permission of the physical education teacher, who declared that “today is the day of the cannibal” and the children can kick their friend who “takes too long to tie his shoelaces.” The child was diagnosed with a concussion and serious bruises.
Such a case, without exaggeration, breaks the child’s psyche. He is worried, sometimes he is afraid to talk about what happened, he feels humiliated and defenseless, he is afraid that his parents will not understand and will not support him, because it was not just anyone who hit him, but an adult and authoritative person.
Olga Sviridova, a certified psychologist with 20 years of experience, an expert in the field of family relationships, and a current teacher of practical psychology at the Extern children's science camp, comments :
“Unfortunately, the education system does not always employ highly qualified personnel, and in some situations they indulge in behavior that is not at all pedagogical. Each case is individual, and before suing a teacher, of course, you need to figure out what happened.
From a psychological point of view, children traumatized by such a situation do not want to go to school after this. Often a child has to change school, even though he was not to blame for the current situation. It is important for parents to take into account how stable their child’s psyche is, and, if possible, relegating emotions to the background, weighing all the pros and cons of continuing to be in this particular school, go for a conversation, and not with the teacher, but with the administration educational institution.
If the child is a “fighter” by nature, then it is enough to hold explanatory conversations, assure that this will not happen again, make it clear that the parents and school administration are on his side, and then resume classes at school. If your child is less mentally stable, he may need the help of a psychologist. What does your son or daughter feel now when they hear the words “school”, “classes”, “teacher”? Fear. And dealing with it can be difficult. It is important for parents not to belittle the child’s feelings with phrases like “why are you so small”, “oh well, everyone has already forgotten”, but to be with the child all the time, support him and contact a specialist in time.
Listen and support
Another important point: you need to understand that children are children, and sometimes they tend to exaggerate, dramatize, or even lie to adults for one reason or another. Ksenia Shcherbinina, a child psychologist at the YouTalk service, talks about this
“When such incidents occur, everyone’s emotions go through the roof and it is very difficult to control themselves: the child is very scared, the parents are furious. To begin with, it is important for parents to find the strength to take a deep breath and exhale and try to understand the situation. What really happened? Under what circumstances did this happen?
There is now a tendency to demonize teachers and the education system as a whole. Behind this negative attitude, we sometimes stop seeing reality. Perhaps there was no incident, and for the child this is just a reason to attract the attention of mom and dad, to feel how they can protect him and take care of him. Perhaps the conflict was not with the teacher, but with classmates, but “knocking” was scary, but the bruise remained. Why not blame it on a teacher who already doesn't have the best reputation? I am talking now about other options not in order to protect teachers (although they sometimes need protection), but in order to warn about other equally serious reasons.
So, you figured out the situation and made sure that the teacher went beyond his competence and insulted or even hit the child. As a rule, in such situations, the child experiences great confusion, worries whether he is to blame for this situation, and is afraid that everything may happen again.
No matter what terrible things happen in the lives of our children, we can and should explain to them what is happening.
“What happened to you is not the norm, it shouldn’t happen. I know you're scared. It's not your fault what happened. Even if you did not behave the way the teacher wanted, he has no right to insult you, much less beat you. No one has the right to hit you. Mom/Dad and I will look into this situation and won’t let it happen again.”
Do not hush up the incident and do not try to pretend that nothing happened. You should not immerse your child too much in further proceedings, as this may re-traumatize him. It is enough that he feels your protection. Such explanations allow the child to “digest” the negative experience that happened to him.
Of course, it will take time. If parents notice that the child began to behave differently after such an incident, it is worth contacting a psychologist. Everyone's tolerance to stress is different. What is quickly forgotten for some may leave a serious imprint on others. Timely psychological assistance will help minimize the effects of stress.
Where to go if neighbors beat a child?
The authority to which you need to contact is determined based on the specific situation. If a person witnesses a child being beaten, they should immediately call the police.
A police squad will arrive at the crime scene, draw up a report and send the child for a forensic examination. Based on the expert’s opinion, they will decide what type of liability to bring the parents to bear.
To begin with, the child may be isolated from his parents to avoid repeated beatings, and the parents themselves will be limited in their parental rights. In the future, they may be completely deprived of parental rights.
What the law says
Beatings and insults by a teacher are a crime for which the teacher must be punished. We should not turn a blind eye to this, because impunity, as we know, entails repeated offenses. If the teacher receives the punishment he deserves, there is a chance that no more children will suffer from his actions.
What to do if your son or daughter was hit by a teacher? Expert of the Public Chamber for the Protection of Children's Rights, lawyer Vadim Kudryavtsev says
“Recently, stories in the media about monstrous stories have really become more frequent, when children were physically harmed in kindergartens and schools, and teachers did it. In such cases, parents are faced with the question: where and how to turn? As a lawyer, I can responsibly state that causing bodily harm to your child is a crime and is punishable according to Russian laws. If you are faced with such a situation, you need to call the police, record the injuries and immediately write a statement to initiate a criminal case. If the damage is serious, you need to contact the Investigative Committee at the place where the crime was committed.
If you are simply dissatisfied with the employees of educational institutions or believe that there are some violations of the law, and this is not related to specific crimes against your child, you can contact the prosecutor's office and ask to conduct an inspection of the employees of educational institutions.
Olga Nyankina, lawyer, managing partner of the Moscow Law Office "Nyankin and Partners" , adds:
— If your child has become a victim of physical violence by a teacher, first of all, you need to go to the emergency room or children's clinic, where traces of beatings, if any, are recorded. The next step is to submit an application to the educational authorities on whose territory the school is located, and at the same time to the management of the educational institution itself - the school director.
If there are no traces of physical violence, or if the violence manifests itself in insults, other forms of psychological violence, or simply unethical behavior, it is important to question the child in detail about the teacher’s actions and statements. It is also worth talking to children who witnessed the incident - this should be done through contact with their parents.
Once you are convinced that the child has actually been subjected to violence, submit an application to the administration of the educational institution with a request to take action against the teacher. If you have audio or video evidence, please attach the recording to your application.
Upon receiving a complaint, the school is required to conduct an internal investigation, during which the participants in the incident must be interviewed.
A teacher who commits illegal actions against a student may be subject to disciplinary, administrative or criminal liability.
- Thus, in accordance with paragraph two of Article 336 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, an additional basis for termination of an employment contract with a teacher is the one-time use of educational methods associated with the use of physical or mental violence against a student or pupil.
- If physical violence is used against a child, the teacher may be prosecuted under Article 115 “Causing minor harm to health” or 117 “Torture” of the Criminal Code of Russia, or under Article 6.1.1 of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses “Beatings”.
- The commission of a crime by a teacher against a minor pupil is an aggravating circumstance by virtue of Article 63 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
- In some cases, the actions of a teacher can be qualified under Article 156 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for improper performance of duties in raising a child by a teaching staff, if it involves cruel treatment of the student.
Of course, the legal representative retains the right to file a claim in court in civil proceedings. In this case, the plaintiff’s demands will be devoted to the recovery of compensation for moral damage, as well as costs associated with providing psychological or medical assistance to the child, both from the teacher himself and from the educational institution.
Procedure when a teacher hits a student
The reasons why a teacher hits a student are often related to the children's behavior. Without proper upbringing on the part of parents, as well as the teacher’s inability to establish the educational process, he may become a victim of constant provocation and mockery from children. The teacher’s nerves do not always withstand such behavior from students. But under no circumstances does he have the right to hit a student.
The fact of the blow prompts the student's parents to contact the police. The law allows you to act in this way, but you should not rush to submit an application. First, you need to contact the school administration to find out the circumstances and hold the teacher accountable at the place of work.
It is not always possible to resolve the conflict and punish the perpetrators within the educational institution. In this case, you need to contact the police and court. The student’s parents face a lengthy trial, which must begin with:
- Filing a statement to the police.
- Collection of evidence (medical certificates indicating beatings).
The text of the statement must describe in detail that the teacher beats the student, talk about the circumstances of the incident and indicate the details of the participants in the conflict and possible witnesses.
In addition to holding the teacher accountable, moral damages can be recovered from the teacher through the court. When filing such a claim, it is worth seeking the help of an experienced lawyer, since the satisfaction of claims for moral damages largely depends on a reasoned calculation of the amount of damage.
Instead of a total
In any case, it is important for the parent to understand the situation, not to be afraid that other teachers will turn against their child because of the proceedings, and not to downplay the importance of what happened, even if the teacher’s actions did not leave the student with a scratch.
In some cases, it is better to transfer the child to another school, especially if he himself asks for it. Sometimes, in order for everything to return to normal, a conversation and support is enough, as well as the removal of the offending teacher from work, but in some cases, parents have serious work ahead of them so that their child stops feeling afraid and loves school again.
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Experts: Ksenia Shcherbinina Olga Alekseevna Nyankina Vadim Kudryavtsev Olga Sviridova
