A staggering 60% of Jamaican students have experienced bullying, with 30% fearing school due to victimisation, according to a 2015 UNICEF study. Parents, like one St James mother whose son faced relentless bullying at Maldon High, are voicing frustration at inadequate school interventions. Initiatives like the SafeSpot helpline offer some support, but calls are mounting for stronger, immediate measures to address this widespread issue and protect vulnerable students.

A year of bullying, a year of silence

Desperate mom pleads for help as son endures bullying at Maldon High

Jamaica Gleaner/17 Nov 2024/Rochelle Clayton Staff Reporter 

AST James mother is feeling hopeless and desperate after a year of trying to get help for her 13-year-old son, who has endured persistent bullying at Maldon High, despite the school’s administration being aware of the situation.

S.B.* told The Sunday Gleaner that her son, who is in grade eight, has been the target of physical abuse and verbal taunts from older students since he began attending the school in September 2023. She said despite repeated complaints to Janet Manning, the school’s principal, and Floyd Hitchman, a guidance counsellor, nothing has been done to stop the bullying.

She is hoping that a glimmer of hope which flashed late last week will bring the relief they yearn for.

“My son came home with five fingerprints on his face in September [of 2023] and mi go over the school. It was done by some bigger guys and he was just in the seventh grade. Dem also beat him inna him head pon bus and when he reached [MoBay], him drop down in front of a truck. He literally blacked out before he could have realised it was a truck he dropped down in front of. Mi go up at the school and nothing has come out of it. Dem nah suspend anybody, mi nah see any parents, and everybody still a go school,” said S.B., adding that the bullies have also taken her son’s lunch money.

REQUEST FOR TRANSFER

Feeling frustrated and unsupported, S.B. reached out to the Ministry of Education’s Region Four office in Montego Bay to request that her son be transferred to another school. She was directed to the Learner Centre in Montego Bay, but felt uncomfortable with the stigma attached to students there.

“I didn’t like the situation,” she said, adding that the same type of troublesome students who were expelled from other schools attend the private institution.

“Plus, I cannot manage the school fees,” S.B. added. “I am a single parent. I don’t have a father to take care of him and I have a baby who is two years old. So I cannot manage the bills that they are giving me to pay. So I asked if they could refer me to another government school like Green Pond, Anchovy, or St James High.”

Nothing came of that visit. S.B. told The Sunday Gleaner that her son’s latest run-in with school bullies was on October 14, when he attempted to change into sports gear for a physical education class.

“He said that he went into the restroom to change and there were a good amount of children inside, so he picked a corner and was there changing. When he was changing his clothes, one of the boys pulled his pants down to his feet. He said he saw two of them laughing. He turned back around again and he fixed up himself, but turned around again just in time to see the other guy again pulling down his pants and underpants in the bathroom,” the mother said, adding that her son reported the matter before the day ended.

“It is very embarrassing for a person to pull down your clothes in front of the public. He doesn’t even want to stay at school. He doesn’t want to stay in class because they are troubling him about it. If they are troubling him constantly he is going to want to fight because he won’t like the mockery, so I don’t send him to school [regularly],” S.B. added.

She has since told her son not to participate in extracurricular activities at school, hoping it would help him keep a low profile.

“Based on all that’s been happening to him up there, I told him not to enter any sports because no matter what they’re doing to him up there, there’s nobody to defend him,” S.B. said.

She filed another complaint to the school’s administration and made a second visit to the ministry’s office.

Again, nothing changed and she was left feeling voiceless.

S.B. said she also filed a report at the Maroon Town Police Station.

Last week, The Sunday Gleaner was unable to get responses to questions about the matter from the school.

“I don’t speak for the school in matters like these. You need to speak with the board chairman,” Principal Manning said.

Several calls placed and messages sent to the Chairman Everest Coke went unanswered.

In a brief conversation with The Sunday Gleaner last Tuesday, Dr Michele Pinnock, regional director of the education ministry’s Region Four, said: “The parent and child you referred to have been transferred and we are arranging counselling . ... He is enrolled at a new school.”

She promised to prepare a full response by the end of the day. Days later, the responses have not been received. She has also not responded to calls and messages since then.

S.B., however, said the matter has not been settled, adding that her son attended Maldon High last Monday.

Last Tuesday, she was contacted by Dr Shamara Brissett, an education officer in the Ministry of Education’s Region Four.

“She asked me which school I had in mind and I told her St James High, Green Pond High, and Anchovy High. She said to me that St James High isn’t taking anybody, Green Pond is currently full, and Anchovy doesn’t have any space. She then asked me about Cambridge [High],” S.B. said.

She was then invited to attend a meeting at Maldon High on Thursday afternoon and Brissett told her to visit Cambridge High this week to meet with the principal to see if her son can be enrolled there.

Meanwhile, S.B. complained bitterly of the inconvenience and emotional strain the prolonged ordeal has caused her family. She fears her job is now at risk as a result of multiple absences to attend meetings at school.

“I am just praying that they call me back to work. I took a lot of days off to handle this and I am going off on a contract break soon, and whenever I go to the meetings, I am the only [parent] there,” she said.

“We normally go through school until we graduate. I never had a parent go to school for me and I have never been to school for any of my other two kids if they are not sick,” she added.

MAJORITY OF J’CAN STUDENTS BULLIED

According to a 2015 UNICEF study, 60 per cent of Jamaican students report having been bullied at some point in their lives, and approximately 30 per cent of students express fear of attending school due to bullying.

UNICEF, in partnership with the Office of the Children’s Advocate and the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, has set up a helpline called SafeSpot to offer confidential, 24/7 support to young people facing bullying.

The SafeSpot website says the service provides “immediate, remote and confidential psychosocial support services to children and teens under 18 years old via a toll-free landline, WhatsApp, web chat, ... as well as by direct messaging on Instagram and Snapchat”.

Checks by The Sunday Gleaner last week indicated that the WhatsApp line is responsive; however, the toll-free line is currently out of service.

*Mother’s initials used by The Sunday Gleaner to protect child’s identity.

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