Representatives from the Coalition on Children’s Rights (KDL) and Timor-Leste Coalition for Education (TLCE) have condemned Deputy Minister of Education for Senior High School Virgilio Smith’s statement regarding the alleged sexual abuse of a student by a teacher at San Miguel College.
When asked for his comment on the abuse case by the Timor Post in January, Deputy Minister Smith responded “Are you a man or a woman? A man is a man. Only a gay man doesn’t like it”.
TLCE program manager Matias dos Santos said the deputy minister’s statement opened the door for educators to violate female students’ rights.
He said female students felt intimidated by going to school because Smith’s comments could be seen as authorization from a political leader for teachers to sexually abuse their students.
“This statement endangers students in school and gives freedom to offenders to continue doing these actions,” dos Santos said.
Smith’s comments could make parents wary of allowing their children attend school, dos Santos said.
KDL representative Honorio Soares Almeida said the deputy minister’s statement violated the principles of the International Convention on Human Rights, ratified by Timor-Leste in 2003.
Through they had no recourse to sanction Smith, Soares Almeida said the issue would be raised in a report to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
“We will include this matter in the report which we will submit to Geneva,” he said.
KDL also recommended the Prime Minister take action against Smith.
Resident Jefrino Baptista said he was concerned with this situation because there had been many cases of sexual abuse recently, some of which involved teachers and students.
“I think little statements like this can destroy the image of the nation,” he said.
