Campaign against violence and harassment against teachers (movie)
External practice
Duration
Ongoing.
Reason it was developed
In Romania, the media has always granted extended spaces to violence of any kind to which students are subjected either by teachers or one by the other. Less publicized, however, is the number of aggression against teachers, which has been worrying in schools. In the face of this revolting reality, since 2017, FSLI has submitted to the Chamber of Deputies a legislative initiative regarding the granting of public authority status to teachers. From that moment, the judicial bodies will be able to self-assess as soon as a teacher is physically or verbally assaulted. The Free Trade Unions Federation in Education (FSLI) asks the Senate to urgently approve the draft Law on the protection of the teaching staff, saying that there are schools where teachers are humiliated, offended, aggressed or beaten, and the number of cases of violence against teachers are increasing. The aim of the FSLI campaign is not only to raise awareness of the public opinion and the decision-makers on the phenomenon of teacher bullying, but also to launch a national debate on this topic that will lead to a stronger and more accurate media coverage.
Activities
Obtaining by law the status of public authority for teachers is essential for our education system to collapse, but it is not enough. We can't heal a sick system after 25 years of political insensitivity and we cannot rebuild the demolished image of the teacher throughout this period if we do not restore them dignity, including from a material point of view. In this context, USLI Iași - affiliates at FSLI made a short film "#No Defense", which was released in May 2019 and has already garnered over half a million views.
Results
Obviously, the film has generated numerous pro and cons positions, but FSLI considers it extremely important that they have managed to draw attention to the violence in the schools, the harassment and aggression that teachers are subjected to, not only to the similar situations which students are subject. In this regard, the members of Parliament adopted at the end of 2018 the Law which prohibits psychological violence - bullying - in educational establishments and in all areas for vocational education and training. According to the law, there will be introduced information sessions / topics / training courses on the issues related to psychological violence - bullying, addressed to the teaching staff in order to acquire skills in identifying those situations and to achieve the necessary abilities to apply educational strategies. The law was unanimously voted in the Senate and went to promulgation of President Klaus Iohannis, unfortunately he decided to send it back to Parliament for review.
Funding
Internal trade union's funding.