The Rights of Children (ROC) on Tuesday yesterday launched “Everyday Or-deals”, a kit to confront sexual harassment in Guyanese schools at the National Library Auditorium on Church Street.
The kit which contains a manual of lesson plans and a DVD which highlights typical situations in which girls find themselves harassed on a daily basis was produced by ROC. In a release, ROC said the kit was produced because the “number of incidents of sexual harassment that came to ROC’s attention were not properly resolved because of teacher uncertainty over how to handle the issue”.
The kit is aimed at filling the gap in which no guidelines are currently available with regard to sexual harassment in schools. The kit has a nine-lesson plan which addresses issues such as personal space, boundaries, fringe friends and flirting or hurting.
Meanwhile, present at the launch, Chief Schools Welfare Officer, Banmattie Ram welcomed and praised the kit. She pointed out that “gully” and “gaza” music from Jamaica were damaging and discouraged young people from attending the upcoming Vibez Kartel concert, the ROC release said.
Twelve secondary schools were present at the launch of the “Everyday Ordeals” kit and received kits and participated in discussions on how to most effectively utilise the kit in school.
The “Everyday Ordeals” kit is third video documentary ROC has produced as part of its aim to “equip young people to use the rights of the child to impact on the adult world which puts children’ lives and future in jeopardy on a daily basis”.
ROC will hold similar events for secondary schools in other regions in the new school term, the release said.
