Protests at ITM in Medellín: They burn the suitcase of teacher accused of sexual harassment

For several weeks now, students from the ITM University Institution in Medellín have denounced one of the teachers to the directors for allegedly sexually harassing several female students. On March 29, there was a protest against the school's omissive behavior and the behavior of the teacher, who had his suitcase burned.

The protest ended in dismantles between the demonstrators and the administrative staff of the University, and according to the Ministry of Mobility, road closures occurred on the entrance road to the institution.

On video it was recorded how a group of hooded men went to face the teacher in one of the classrooms. There, one of the protesters tried to attack the professor, so an administrative official intervened in the confrontation; however, they demanded her for covering up the alleged harasser and was even assaulted in the middle of the dispute. The staff of the Institution intervened in the situation.

For his part, the accused teacher fled the classroom to an administrative office, leaving behind his belongings, which were cremated by the protesters. The fact was also recorded on video, in which one student assures that, “complaints are useless, they have never been useful for us. You are a male stalker and aggressor.”

Faced with the facts, the ITM University Institution issued a press release rejecting “any type of violence that violates the dignity and integrity of any of its members: students, teachers, administrative staff, graduates and collaborators”. The school will start an investigation to clarify the situation that arose last Tuesday and thus, “give timely processing to the competent authorities,” he added.

This is not the first time that a day of protests has been held in an educational institution in Medellin over the same situation.

On March 8, on International Women's Day, the students of the Antioquia Training Center (CEFA) students held a peaceful sit-in at the institution for the alleged sexual harassment committed by Carlos Mario Jaramillo, a physical education teacher, against dozens of students. After the demonstration, more cases were heard at the Ferrini Bilingual School and the Fundadores Educational Institution.

The municipal administration, the Attorney General's Office and the Public Prosecutor's Office activated the route to clarify the facts of the three schools. This initiative consists of giving special accompaniment to the students who raised their voices to denounce the harassment of which they and their colleagues have allegedly been victims. This process is carried out with staff from women's, youth, inclusion and health units of local authorities.

On the other hand, an investigation by the Laboratory for the Economics of Education (LEE) of the Javeriana University indicated that in 2021, approximately 43,993 complaints associated with sexual crimes were filed in Colombia, in which 85.4% of the cases the victim is a woman.

Of the 100 per cent of complaints, 27,000 of these (61 per cent) relate to cases against children and adolescents. This implies that, on average, a child abuse is reported every 20 minutes. “The rights of girls and women are violated and in countries like Colombia, women are vulnerable and discriminated against, in education, in the labor market, there is a lot of sexism and society has normalized this, we accept it because it has always been that way,” said Luz Karime Abadía, co-director of LEE.

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