The Taipei American School (TAS) was yesterday embroiled in a case of alleged sexual abuse when the mother of a 12-year-old girl who claimed to have been raped by a schoolmate accused the school of mishandling the matter. TAS denied any wrongdoing.
At a press conference held by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsu Chia-ching (
"Instead, they asked me to sign an undertaking and release to agree that the case did not involve rape. I was also asked to drop the lawsuit against both the sex offender and the school," the mother said.
According to the mother, her daughter, surnamed Lin, was raped three times in her home by a 17-year-old schoolboy in 2003. She reported the case to the TAS, and asked the school to expel the boy. She also filed a lawsuit against the boy, which was settled later the same year.
The school allegedly delayed reporting the case to Taipei City's Center for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault for a month.
The mother said that the school threatened to expel her daughter if she refused to drop the lawsuit or sign a statement that the incident involved "consensual sexual activity" between the two students.
A copy of the statement provided by the mother contains the following declaration: "With due consideration for the best interests of each of A and B, the undersigned agree that it is neither appropriate nor warranted in the circumstances to file any official report or complaint to any governmental, administrative or legal authority."
The school yesterday denied the mother's claims.
"In an attempt to protect the children, we declined to discuss any details of the case. To our knowledge, the case was settled in 2003, and the parent of the girl did not sign any undertaking or release. Many of the accusations are not true," the TAS said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the girl has sent two letters to US President George W. Bush, asking for international assistance.
"People who handled my case not only didn't help me, they had discrimination towards my mom and I. They wrongly educated me that I agreed to be raped and I needed to keep silent about it," read one letter released at the press conference.
According to the letter, written in February, Lin accused the TAS and her alleged attacker of covering up and distorting the truth.
Hsu said that the TAS had violated Article 8 of the Sexual Abuse Prevention Act (性侵害防治法), as well as Article 34 of the Children and Juveniles Welfare Law (兒童及少年福利法).
Both laws stipulate that the police, social workers and education authorities should report any cases of sexual abuse or harassment to local governments or the local center for the prevention of sexual abuse within 24 hours.
"We ask the TAS to explain why it failed to report the case within 24 hours and asked the parent to sign those documents. Besides, the school should improve gender equality education and prevent such cases from happening again," Hsu said.
Hsu Shi-bin (
"Sexual abuse or harassment happened a lot around campus. Schools should play an active role in handling such cases. It is their responsibility to handle the cases and protect students, instead of trying to cover the truth," Hsu said.
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