‘Silence’ - Chen Zhao-Ru voices out for special education students

Since 2006, a special education school in southern Taiwan has documented over 100 incidents of sexual assault or sexual harassment between students. With many of the students suffering from deafness, at the time of the incidents, the students were unable to speak out. However, when in a cry for help one brave girl confided in a trusted teacher through a scribbled note, the teacher turned a blind eye and asked her to keep her ‘silence.’

Following the eventual discovery of the incident after the girl’s mother questioned her daughter regarding her poor physical condition, the Humanistic Education Foundation was approached for assistance. In her book ‘Silence,’ writer Chen Zhao-Ru (陳昭如) has documented not only the ins and outs of countless true incidents, including the school’s attitude, the teacher’s standpoint, and the official reply from the Ministry of Education, but also the contrasting great effort of the Humanistic Education Foundation, the voices of parents, and thoughts of students; readers will be left with a great sense of sadness at the plights of children in special education. 

‘Silence’ - Chen Zhao-Ru voices out for special education students

URL:https://www.peopo.org/news/244963

(以下為中文對照)

《沉默》陳昭如為特教生發聲
二○○六年起，台灣南部某特教學校陸續遭揭發一百多起「學生對學生」的性侵害及性騷擾事件，當事人皆為無法言語、沒有聽覺的聽障生，當一位女學生鼓起勇氣，透過紙條向信任的老師求救時，老師卻視而不見，要求她保持「沉默」，直到女學生身體不適，在媽媽的詢問下，才發現這起事件，並且向人本教育基金會提出需求協助。文字工作者陳昭如所著作的《沉默》一書，真實記錄了多起事件的始末，校方的態度、老師的立場、教育部官員的說詞，對比人本團隊的努力、家長們的心聲、孩子的想法，讀完後更讓人為特教生的處境感到不捨與難過。