The documentator of the REAct project was contacted by a client of one of the partner NGOs. The woman said that her child comes home from school in tears and says that her peers bully and make fun of her, arguing that her mother is a drug addict and will soon die. Moreover, the class teacher also repeatedly insulted the girl, calling her a “drug addict bastard” and predicting that she would be just like her mother.
The client’s daughter was terrified. Because of this, the girl did not want to go to school, was psychologically depressed, and asked her mother to move somewhere where no one would know about her past. No one supported the child in this school. Instead, they even hated her, because they constantly tried to insult and humiliate her. The woman was in despair and did not know how to find a way out of this situation.
The REAct documentator from the partner organization Club “ENEY” instantly reacted to this case and immediately consulted the client. Currently, the woman is provided with psychological support from the organization’s psychologist. Also, together with the documentator and the organization’s lawyer, a complaint was submitted to the school management, but, unfortunately, there were no response results from the administration. After that, the client, accompanied by NGO specialists, filed a complaint with the education department of the district administration, where the reaction was immediate. The class teacher was deprived of the functions of class leadership, and the director of the educational institution was reprimanded. Moreover, the specialists of the Department of Education helped to transfer the girl to another school, where she now studies with pleasure and also visits a school psychologist to overcome the previous consequences of bullying.
This case is a vivid example of how children of representatives of key groups can be stigmatized even by teachers who seem to have a high moral culture. However, the reality is cruel. Therefore, liability for stigmatization and discrimination must be effective.