Children must be educated in a way that encourages them to say 'No', says ombudsman

In an interview with RTL, Schmit stated that children and adolescents "are strong enough to say 'No'", a message which the ombudsman for children and adolescents thinks should be promoted more. The interview was conducted following the distribution of an open letter written by ex-students of Lycée Classique de Diekirch (LCD), in which they reacted to the recent allegations of sexual harassment against a now former teacher of the secondary school.

The interview (in Luxembourgish):

Schmit stressed that sensitive incidents should not be debated in public, explaining that "no complaint management, no mediation, and no child protection works in the public space". Instead, adequate procedures and contact points are needed, "where all of this can be done in a safe environment and the personal rights of all those involved are respected". Schmit thinks that people should avoid condemning someone prematurely or organising a "witch hunt" on social media.

He explains that the ombudsman acts as an external contact point for complaints and grievances and, since 2018, an internal mediation service is also available in the country's schools. However, Schmit acknowledges that additional workers are needed at the level of regional administration of primary schools and inside secondary schools to deal with this sort of situations.

In fact, Schmit adds, additional employees are needed "everywhere where children and adolescents are taken in charge, educated, or housed. The ombudsman believes that the time is ripe to introduce complaint management systems in the different areas, seeing as the pandemic has increasingly revealed the factors that are negatively affecting the country's youth.

Child Protection Officers

One concept proposed by Schmit is that of "Child Protection Officers", i.e. a clearly identifiable person to whom one can turn as a first point of contact. There is a definite need for action, Schmit adds, and it is the wish of the ombudsman that actors from the education sector, both formal and non-formal, and sports, all come together to improve prevention, reaction, and mediation.

This is already being worked on in some form in the context of a task force, which is due to present its first suggestions later this year. It is, however, very clear that Luxembourg's school administrations are increasingly asking for tools and guidelines on how to deal with certain situations, Schmit stated.

Schmit explained that the large majority of people have understood that today's society has a "completely different sensitivity" regarding certain issues. The goal is to create a school culture in which everything can be addressed, not in a spiteful way, but through proper complaint management and feedback systems, which should be accessible and safe in order for even the most sensitive of issues to be addressed.

The ombudsman concluded by stressing that adults must educate children and adolescents in a way that encourages them to say "No" and draw clear boundaries.