As a mother and an emergency room nurse, I’ve seen my fair share of traumatic experiences. But nothing could have prepared me for the day I received a call from my daughter’s school, informing me that she had been involved in an altercation with a male student. What I was about to discover would leave me outraged and determined to take a stand.
When I arrived at the school, I was greeted by the principal, my daughter’s advisor, a male teacher, the boy’s parents, and the boy himself, who had a bloodied nose and a red face. It quickly became apparent that the school was more concerned with my daughter’s reaction to the incident than with the incident itself.
As the story unfolded, I learned that the boy had been snapping my daughter’s bra, despite her repeated requests for him to stop. When she finally stood up for herself and punched him in the face, the teacher told her to “ignore it.” Ignoring it was not an option for my daughter, and it certainly wasn’t an option for me.
I was appalled by the school’s lack of action and their apparent dismissal of my daughter’s experience. I made it clear that I would not tolerate this kind of behavior and that I would be reporting the incident to the school administrators. I also made sure the boy understood that if he ever touched my daughter again, I would have him arrested for sexual assault.
In the end, my daughter was moved to a different class, away from the teacher and the boy. While the experience was traumatic, I am proud of my daughter for standing up for herself and for me for standing up for her. As a mother, it’s my job to protect my child, and I will stop at nothing to ensure her safety and well-being.
