What can I do if I know a student is being abused? I was told by the JTE that it was happening and they haven’t called social services yet. Is there anything I can do to make sure they aren’t dropping the ball on this? My company keeps telling me I can’t do anything but I feel so awful.
11 comments
Ask info from Co-workers???
You could call them yourself, but when making your decision, you should consider that the JTE may not have told you everything, and you may not really know enough of the details in order to make a judgment call on whether you need to step in or stay clear. It may be that the school is doing more than you know, or is handling it in a way that isn’t clear to you right now.
Maybe keep eyes and ears open on this for a while yet.
In the end, though, you aren’t a teacher, aren’t a parent, and … sorry … aren’t Japanese. They will likely see it as interference. Have a think on that.
Don’t let anyone scare you into not doing what you feel is right. Make a scene and help the poor kid. They are waiting for someone to take action.
Has the JTE explained why they haven’t reported this yet?
They have a duty of care, more so than you do. If a JTE told me that a kid was being abused but that they haven’t reported it, I’d quite honestly not let it slide. They need a concrete reason for that, and I would definitely give them a hard time. If they told me that they had been in touch with the 児童相談所 and were waiting for something to happen, or that the school is currently actively dealing with the parents, then that would be a different story.
In my ALT days, I reported unusual things I saw to JTEs and they thankfully took my reports seriously. This world would be a far more horrid place if everybody turned a blind eye to child abuse.
For future reference, forget talking to your company. All dispatch companies care about is their contract, so they of course do not want you rocking the boat. Don’t bother asking for their advice on the ethics of child care and safety. Good news is that if you somehow got fired for reporting, you’ve got a juicy wrongful termination lawsuit on your hands.
Directly contacting 189 without confronting the JTE is also a correct answer.
Dont get invovled ! As a foreigner, it will turn out badly.
Trust me I know (as I know a friend who was in a similar situation)
As a licensed teacher who has worked many years in public and private schools in Canada and Japan, I recommend you proceed with caution. Teachers are always taught to report suspected abuse to the child protection officer (or equivalent position) of the school and to let them handle the investigating and reporting to child services. That person’s job is to look out for both the well-being of the child and the person reporting the incident. If you publicize your suspicions to the wrong people, you could face legal repercussions. Japan, in particular, has strict defamation laws. 189 would be a good option as another choice but be factual. Also, while they try to be as anonymous as possible, please be prepared for the fact that others may be able to figure out who reported the incident through the investigation process.
Finally, you should clarify with the Japanese teacher in terms of what is already being done in this case. My experience in Japan only involves international schools so I can only guess that it’s similar in Japanese public schools. However, having been involved in quite a few of these cases, there are always loads of meetings happening behind the scenes involving only certain individuals. These meetings are usually confidential and the details would not be shared with staff members unrelated to the incident. Child services, in their investigation, will only contact specific individuals with details on the incident. Unless they called to speak to you, you would not know they were involved. From my experiences with home abuse (not school related abuse), I have only heard them call to speak with the child protection officer, homeroom teacher, counsellor and/or nurse. School related abuse is very different. Hopefully, the child in question at your school is being properly supported.
Any way to make an anonymous call?
What kind of abuse are you talking about? If it’s physical abuse, then unfortunately the attitude in Japan seems to be that teachers/schools don’t interfere in this kind of thing. The idea seems to be “It’s your kid, discipline them how you’d like.” There were several cases like this in my schools while I was teaching in Japan, and I heard many more from fellow teachers – some egregious. Once a student was punched by his father in front of a crowd at a park. The police were called by the witnesses, but nothing much happened. Even though Japan made physical punishments illegal within the past several years, IIRC the problem with the new law is that it’s toothless – there are no prescribed punishments.
That said, you should do what you feel is right. If you don’t, then you’ll regret it. You may regret it if you do, depending on the outcome, but you’ll definitely regret it if you don’t, moreso if something happens. Get more details and report it, anonymously if possible. Don’t tell your coworkers that it was you because they’ll more than likely out you – even those you trust. If you have a Japanese friend outside your workplace, maybe they can help you.
If you are confident you know enough about the facts report it. Dont be scared to do the right thing. A childs wellbeing should always be the most important thing.
Is there a school counselor in your school?
One suggestion would be for you to speak to that person – just tell them the absolute facts only, with no embellishment. In this case, it would be “so-and-so JTE told me this. I am very concerned, but I do not have any additional information. Can you please follow up with that JTE, and the student if necessary…”, and that should get the ball rolling.
The school counselor has a duty of care to the students, and should not ignore your “report”. That said, as others have mentioned, you will probably not get any follow up on the situation. Trust that it will be looked into, and if necessary, addressed.
I have done so in the past, for other different (not abuse) situations, and generally get one of two responses. “Yes, we are aware of that issue”, or “Thank you for bringing it to our attention.” And that is about as far as it goes.
Well, OP, what are you going to do?
Have you even read the replies?