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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Prod for campus gender monitor -Ananya Sengupta

Prod for campus gender monitor -Ananya Sengupta

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published Published on Jul 21, 2015   modified Modified on Jul 21, 2015
-The Telegraph

New Delhi: The Centre has nudged schools and colleges to appoint student gender monitors who will report any incident of gender bias or sexual harassment on the campus to designated teachers.

Although the government has dubbed the measure an "outreach for creating an environment that fosters equal treatment", social activists said a sensitisation programme would have worked better than a system that will only create snitches.

According to government guidelines issued last week, each school and college will appoint a male or female student as a "gender champion", who will report to one or more designated teachers during a one-year tenure.

Student victims of sexual harassment are to report it to the gender champion, who will also watch out for any instance of gender bias - such as a group of boys engaged in sexist talk among themselves - and take it to the authorities.

At least two schoolgirls this reporter spoke to doubted if the system would work.

"I'm not sure I'll feel confident enough to go to a gender champion to talk about my issues if she is merely a student, just like me. Will she have the power to override the school authorities if they ask us to hush the matter up?" a Class X girl from a Delhi school said.

"Recently, a teacher had groped a girl from my class. She went to the principal in tears but nothing happened."

Another girl, who studies in Class IX at a co-ed school in Delhi, said most girls might not report harassment to the gender champion.

"Most girls just don't complain, they cry and keep quiet. This attitude needs to change. Sometimes we are told something insensitive and we discuss it among ourselves, but we don't protest. So the guys think it's okay to talk like that," she said.

"I'm not against having gender champions but I'm not sure it will work." She advocated "workshops by women who have experienced abuse and can talk about it".

Gopa Bhardwaj, a retired Delhi University professor who specialises in gender psychology, agreed.

"This system will only create telltales. It will remain a girly affair with girls discussing issues among themselves," she said.

"What the government could have done is appoint a teacher and a student in every class to sensitise students on gender issues. They could have started mentorship where a male teacher can mentor a group of boys."

Bhardwaj advocated sex education and sensitisation to gender issues at home and at school.

Activist Kavita Krishnan, who advocates gender discussions and workshops in schools, welcomed the idea of gender champions but said it would work only if the schools encourage the monitors to work independently.

"If such a person is school-appointed and is reporting to the school authorities, I don't know how this will work," Krishnan, secretary of the All India Progressive Women's Association, said.

"In most cases, students who show the initiative in reporting gender bias or sexual abuse are not the most popular in school."

She added: "The gender champions would be under tremendous pressure to give a good report to the school unless there is an outside authority that can regularly interact with and guide them. No school likes or wants bad news."

The Telegraph, 21 July, 2015, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150721/jsp/nation/story_32810.jsp#.Va4Pifk1t_k


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