Claudia López and Prosecutor Barbosa Confirmed Meeting Date to Face Sexual Abuse in Schools

The mayor of Bogotá, Claudia López, confirmed that tomorrow, Friday, March 18, she will meet with the Attorney General of the Nation, Francisco Barbosa, at 4:00 in the afternoon. The president will present a strategy to strengthen the route of attention, investigation and prosecution of complaints of abuse and sexual violence against children in the city's educational institutions.

“The Prosecutor of the Nation, Francisco Barbosa, has confirmed to me that tomorrow Friday at 4:00 in the afternoon he is receiving us. He has a total commitment like that of our Ministry of Education and we have from the Mayor's Office of Bogotá,” said the mayor at a press conference held in the town of Barrios Unidos.

It should be recalled that the meeting was raised after several cases of sexual abuse were heard in schools in Bogotá. In fact, the Ministry of Security indicated that so far this year there have been 702 cases in the capital, of which 276 are children under 14 years of age, that is, about 40% of the reported cases.

Faced with this situation, the mayor explained that she will propose to the Prosecutor to repeat the strategy that has been put forward by the District in cases of violence against women. “It is working well to prosecute homicides,” said López and believes that if the same procedure is applied in public and private schools in Bogotá, it will be possible to “prosecute violence against children and young people.”

The local president intends to have a team specialized in the houses of justice and URIs that complements the safety net they already have in schools, “so that we can prevent and punish,” he added.

Claudia López stressed that “someone who touches, gropes, abuses, rapes one of our children, we must be able to put him in jail, to prosecute him and that there is no impunity in this regard.” He also sent a message to parents who have sought greater prevention and justice in the face of recent cases.

“I want to thank the parents who have raised their voices and who demand that we join forces to protect children, so that they are not harassed by the jíbaros around schools,” the president said. He also highlighted that the Mayor's Office, the Public Prosecutor's Office, parents, teachers, presidents, coordinators and counselors are on the same side, “in the same crusade (...) joining efforts to protect our children who are our treasure,” he added.

Recently, the Personería de Bogotá rejected the behaviors of teachers involved in cases of abuse and indicated that it monitors all the actions of servants in the city and will ensure compliance with the law and respect for human rights. It also opened a preliminary inquiry against public servants attached to the Secretariat of District Education.

The Delegate Representative for Disciplinary Affairs, Silvia Juliana Arciniegas, reported that “we found that of the more than 2,000 processes being carried out by the Ministry of Education, 150 are related to acts of sexual violence against minors”. In turn, he indicated that the most repeated behaviors are: touching, abusive kissing, harassment, sexual abuse; and we found a new typology or conduct: sexual harassment through social networks.

KEEP READING: