SEXUAL OFFENCES PROTOCOL
PROTOCOL FOR THE PREVENTION OF OFFENCES OF A SEXUAL NATURE COMMITTED BY SCHOOL STAFF TOWARDS SCHOOL PUPILS
ELABORATED BY: Alfonso Pacheco Cifuentes Fecha: 23/10/2018
REVIEWED BY: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Fecha: 26/11/2018
APPROVED BY THE DIRECTOR OF THE SCHOOL: P. Pablo Guerrero C.R. Fecha: 26/11/2018
Introduction
Title VIII of Book II of the Penal Code regulates offences against sexual freedom and sexual indemnity:
- Sexual assaults (Articles 178 to 180)
- Sexual abuse (Articles 181 and 182)
- Sexual abuse and assault of minors under the age of 16 (Articles 183 to 183 quarter)
- Sexual harassment (Article 184)
- indecent exposure and sexual provocation (Articles 185 and 186)
- Prostitution, sexual exploitation and corruption of minors (articles 187 to 189).
The school expresses its total rejection and zero tolerance towards any criminal conduct against the sexual indemnity and freedom of individuals and, especially, of the students who attend this school every day.
For this reason, this document aims to develop a protocol for:
- The prevention of the commission by teaching and non-teaching staff of any conduct that could be typified as an attack on the sexual indemnity and freedom of the pupils at the centre, whether or not it has criminal relevance.
- Determine the actions to follow in the event of detecting the possible commission of one of these offences or conducts.
Subjective scope of application
This protocol will be applied to the school's educational community, which includes:
- Teaching staff of the centre
- School administration and services staff
- Instructors of free time activities, sports schools of the centre, extracurricular activities.
- Members of the Teatina Community.
- Persons under the legal dependence of third parties who provide services for the centre.
- Pupils of the centre and their families.
The centre will ensure that this document is made known to the employees of the centre and to the pupils themselves and their legal representatives (parents, guardians, etc.).
Behaviour not tolerated
The school does not in any way tolerate any of the following conduct by members of the educational community towards students and/or their families, whether it takes place inside or outside the school, and whether or not it is of criminal relevance:
- Unwanted physical contact (unnecessary touching, patting, pinching or body rubbing).
- Sexual advances, propositions or pressure for sexual activity, insistence on an unrelated social activity outside the school, offensive flirtations, suggestive remarks, innuendoes or obscene remarks.
- The display, dissemination or sale to pupils of pornographic or sexually explicit material.
- Sending pupils sexually suggestive or pornographic pictures, objects or written materials of a sexual nature, leering, whistling or making certain gestures.
- Exhibitionism of genitalia.
- Requesting the pupil to provide pornographic material or sexually suggestive or pornographic videos and/or photos in which the pupil or third parties appear, or sending written material of a sexual nature.
- Proposing to the pupil to participate in the production of any pornographic material, whatever its medium.
- Soliciting the pupil, whether on an occasional or regular basis, for himself/herself or for others, to have sexual relations or to receive sexual favours from them in exchange for some kind of advantage (academic, financial or otherwise).
- Engaging in voluntary sexual relations with or obtaining sexual favours from pupils at the school, even if no advantage is offered.
- Engaging in any kind of sexual relationship or obtaining sexual favours from a pupil through violence, abuse of position, intimidation or threat to the pupil or a third party.
- Maintaining a sentimental relationship with a pupil at the school, even if the pupil is of legal age.
- Engaging in any other conduct of a sexual nature not covered by this relationship but classified as an offence in Articles 178 to 189 of the Penal Code.
- Engaging in any of the above conduct in relation to family members of pupils.
Preventive measures
1. In accordance with the provisions of article 84 of the national collective agreement for private education centres under the general system or regulated education without any subsidised or subsidised level, the classification of the behaviour described in this document as very serious infractions will be incorporated into the internal regulations of the centre.
2. As this is an educational centre, the majority of its students are minors, which implies the full applicability of article 13.5 of Organic Law 1/1996, of 15 January, on the Legal Protection of Minors, which establishes that:
It shall be a requirement for access to and exercise of professions, trades and activities involving regular contact with minors, not to have been convicted by final judgment for any crime against sexual freedom and indemnity, which includes sexual assault and abuse, sexual harassment, exhibitionism and sexual provocation, prostitution and sexual exploitation and corruption of minors, as well as trafficking in human beings. To this end, anyone seeking access to such professions, trades or activities must accredit this circumstance by providing a negative certificate from the Central Register of Sex Offenders.
Consequently, any person hired or to be hired by the centre must provide the corresponding negative certification from the Central Register of Sex Offenders, issued no more than one month prior to the date of its presentation, which shall be included in the worker's file. In the event that the persons providing services in the centre are legally dependent on third parties, accreditation of these negative certifications shall be required from the latter and shall be included in the contracting file.
3. The centre shall inform all its workers, current and future, of the existence of this protocol and its content, making a full version of the same available to them, either on physical support or in electronic format through the centre's online platform and/or website. The same procedure shall be observed with monitors of free time, sports schools and extracurricular activities, as well as with external companies providing services for the centre that involve dealing with the centre's pupils.
Specific training in this area shall be included in the school's quality plan.
4. The existence of this protocol will be disseminated among the educational community, through its permanent and updated publication on the school's website; sending an informative circular to parents/guardians of the school's pupils; including a mention of its existence in the school's school diary from the 2019/2020 academic year; mentioning its existence in the school's Internal Regulations; including it in the activities related to bullying carried out by the school's psycho-pedagogical department; dissemination in group tutorials and direct communication to pupils over 14 years of age.
5. A procedure will be established for the reporting of alleged acts of bullying, its investigation and resolution in an agile and rigorous manner, guaranteeing the rights of the persons involved.
6. This protocol will be monitored by the School's Governing Board and its guidance department, in order to supervise its correct dissemination, implementation and application, and to introduce any changes and improvements considered appropriate.
Complaints, Reports and Allegations
1. Initiation.
Any person belonging to the school's educational community may file a complaint or report related to sexual harassment/abuse, whether it refers to events suffered by the complainant or by a third party.
This complaint shall be submitted in writing (download versión PDF):
- By depositing them in the specific mailboxes (yellow in colour) that will be installed in common areas of the centre, controlled by the Guidance Department. These boxes will be opened once a week, and a documentary record will be kept of the presence or absence of complaints related to this protocol.
- By handing them in to the school's Guidance Department.
- By sending them to the following e-mail addressorientacion@colegiosancayetano.com Controlled by the school's Guidance Department.
- By sending it to the Head of School by any means.
The school provides interested parties with a documentary model to facilitate the presentation of the complaint, which can be accessed from the school website.
The complaint may be accompanied by any means of evidence considered appropriate by the complainant, without prejudice to those that may be submitted at a later date in the event of the school opening an investigation procedure.
The filing of a complaint in accordance with this protocol does not preclude the exercise of any criminal, civil or other legal action that the injured party may freely undertake.
2. Complaints may not be anonymous, subject to the confidentiality of the identity of the complainant.
3. Once the complaint has been received, it shall be forwarded to the Head of the school within the first working day following its submission.
In the event that the complaint has been lodged by a third party and not directly by the injured party or his or her parents or guardians, the Director shall summon, together with a representative of the psychosocial counselling department, the injured party to ratify the facts of the complaint. If the injured party is a minor, the parents/guardians of the minor shall be summoned to this act.
4. If the complaint is not ratified, a documentary record shall be made and the complaint shall be filed, with written notification to the injured party and his/her parents/guardians.
5. If the complaint is ratified, a documentary record shall be made of this and the Governing Board shall appoint an investigating body, which shall include the school secretary, with this function, a legal advisor of the school and a member of the guidance department. This body shall meet within a maximum period of 48 hours and, after an initial analysis of the objective data known about the case, may:
a) Not admit the complaint for processing when it concerns facts that do not fall within the scope of this protocol. Such rejection shall be notified in writing to the complainant, stating the reasons justifying the rejection.
b) In the event that the complaint refers to facts that cannot be subsumed among those behaviours or conducts listed in this protocol as non-tolerated behaviours, but which could constitute another type of infringement, it shall be processed through the channel established for this purpose by the centre.
c) If the complaint concerns facts pertaining to the scope of this protocol on sexual harassment, the complaint shall be admitted and a file shall be opened for investigation by the investigating body. The parties involved shall be informed of the opening of the file.
6. The file shall have a first phase of information gathering, for a maximum period of fifteen working days, in which statements shall be taken from the parties involved, leaving a written record of the same, and all those means of evidence that the investigating body considers necessary and those proposed by the parties shall be used, provided that they are not considered impertinent, useless or dilatory in the opinion of the investigating body, taking into account, in addition, the periods of limitation of the possible infringements committed indicated in the Collective Agreement applicable to the centre's personnel. Means of evidence shall be understood to be all those contemplated in the Law on Civil Proceedings. The investigator may request the presence of whoever he considers appropriate in the taking of evidence to support his work. The statement of the minor may be attended by his/her parents/guardians, as well as by a member of the psychosocial cabinet of the centre.
Once the collection phase has been completed, the parties involved shall be given a hearing so that they may submit their assessment in writing within 48 hours.
Once this period has elapsed, the investigating body shall draw up a report to be submitted for approval. This report shall contain the following information:
- Background information
- Positions and arguments of the parties
- Evidence adduced
- Facts in the opinion of the investigating body and the secretary as a result of the evidence obtained from the means of proof used.
- Proposal of measures to be taken
This report shall be submitted to the Director of the centre so that he/she may convene the Board of Directors of the centre, the collegiate body competent to hear very serious infringements, so that it may adopt the decision it deems appropriate through the channels set out in the internal regulations of the centre and taking into account the applicable labour regulations.
7. At any time after the complaint has been lodged, the investigating body may propose to the management of the centre the adoption of precautionary measures if it is considered that there are circumstances that make their adoption advisable.
8. At any time after the complaint has been lodged, if it is considered that there are indications of criminal conduct, the Director of the centre shall immediately bring the facts under investigation to the attention of the Administration of Justice.
9. Working days shall be understood to be those from Monday to Friday, with the exception of those that are public holidays or correspond to days included in the school holiday period.
10. Principles or guarantees that will govern throughout the protocol:
- Respect and protection of persons: The centre shall adopt the relevant measures to guarantee the right to the protection of the dignity and privacy of the persons affected, including the persons allegedly harassed and harassers. The actions or proceedings must be carried out with the utmost discretion, prudence and with due respect for all persons involved, who may under no circumstances be treated unfavourably for this reason. The persons involved may be assisted by an accompanying person of their choice at any time throughout the proceedings, if they so require.
- Confidentiality and anonymity: The persons involved in the procedure are obliged to maintain strict confidentiality and reserve and must not transmit or divulge information about the content of the complaints filed, resolved or in the process of investigation of which they are aware.
- Diligence and speed: The investigation and resolution of the reported conduct must be carried out with due professionalism, diligence and without undue delay, so that the procedure can be completed in the shortest possible time while respecting due process.
- Impartiality and contradiction: The procedure must ensure a fair hearing and fair treatment for all persons concerned. All persons involved in the procedure shall act in good faith in the search for the truth and the clarification of the alleged facts.
- Confidentiality: The duty of the persons involved in the procedures provided for in this protocol to maintain due discretion regarding the facts that they become aware of by reason of their position in the investigation and assessment of complaints of sexual harassment and sexist harassment, without being able to use the information obtained for their own benefit or that of third parties, or to the detriment of the public interest.
- Respect for the rights of the parties: The investigation of the claim or complaint must be carried out with sensitivity and respect for the rights of each of the parties concerned, both the complainant and the respondent. The Protocol must guarantee, in all cases, the rights of both parties to their dignity and privacy, and the right of the complainant to their physical and moral integrity, taking into account the possible physical and psychological consequences of a situation of harassment.
- Prohibition of reprisals: Express action shall be taken in the event that reprisals are detected against persons who make a complaint, appear as witnesses or participate in an investigation into sexual harassment or harassment on grounds of sex under the terms provided for in the applicable regulations. However, false or malicious reports may give rise to the corresponding sanctions, without prejudice to the civil or even criminal liabilities that may arise according to current legislation.
- Protection and guarantee of indemnity. The centre shall ensure that complainants who consider that they have been subjected to sexual harassment or sexist harassment, those who provide assistance at any time during the process in accordance with this Protocol (for example, by providing information or intervening as witnesses), or those who act as investigating bodies in disciplinary proceedings for matters within the scope of this Protocol, shall not be subjected to intimidation, threats, violence -on their person, their family or their property-, unfair or unfavourable treatment, persecution, discrimination or reprisal of any kind. Any action in this regard shall have disciplinary effects in accordance with the applicable regulations and its investigation shall be the responsibility of the competent body, without prejudice to the exercise, by the person affected and/or by the centre itself, of the actions that may be appropriate in the event of possible criminal and/or civil liability.
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MODEL REPORT OF OFFENCES OF A SEXUAL NATURE BY SCHOOL STAFF TOWARDS SCHOOL PUPILS
COMPLAINANT
Name and surname
Contact telephone number
Contact e-mail address
Are you reporting in your own name? Yes No If not, please give us the identity and contact details (if known) of the injured party.
If you are not reporting on your own behalf, please provide us with the identity and contact details (if known) of the injured party and your relationship to the injured party.
COMPLAINTEE
Name and surname
Other identifying information that you can provide us with
What has happened?
When did it happen?
MEANS OF EVIDENCE
Please indicate the identity and contact details of persons who may know or may have witnessed the facts described.
Please attach any documents or other means of evidence that may help us to investigate the alleged facts.
OTHER INFORMATION
Please provide us with any other information that you think may be useful for the clarification of the facts reported.
Date
Signature
Data protection information
The person responsible for the processing of the personal data that you provide us with by means of this complaint and for any other data that may be collected during the investigation procedure is the ORDER OF REGULAR THEATINE CLERGY, owner of the San Cayetano School, with CIF R0700014D, with registered address at Avenida Picasso nº 21 07004 Palma. You can contact the school's data protection officer at dpd@colegiosancayetano.comLa. The purpose of this processing is to investigate and resolve the complaint of sexual harassment that you have filed. Transfers: your data will be communicated in the cases foreseen in the action protocol of the centre for the investigation of this type of complaint and, where appropriate, may be brought to the attention of the Justice Administration.
The legitimacy of these processing operations derives from our compliance with legal obligations (article 6.1.f RGPD) and the performance of a mission in the public interest (article 6.1.e RGPD).
We will retain the data and information for the applicable legal periods.
You may exercise your rights of access, rectification, deletion, opposition and limitation of processing, under the terms provided for in Spanish and European legislation on data protection by writing to the centre, Secretary's Office, at the address indicated above. Likewise, if you do not agree with the processing, you may lodge a complaint with the Spanish Data Protection Agency.