Terrible balance this beginning of April in the Canary Islands where we have witnessed the murder of two women victims of gender violence at the hands of their partners. We are facing a social scourge that has its roots in inequality and in patterns of behavior that need to be modified within, not only the school, but also families, the neighborhood and the workplace.
We can all agree on the important steps and progress we have made in terms of equality, with the equalization of rights between men and women in all areas of life, emphasizing the increasing participation of women in work, political, academic or cultural life. However, gender violence surprises us one day and then another.
On the other hand, when we learn of a new case of gender violence, the responsibility of the school is easily resorted to. And while not entirely true, it would be interesting to point out that, if there is a public and coexistence space where this concern has been worked on, it is precisely in the classrooms from a cross-cutting point of view throughout all educational stages. It is in schools where true equality is promoted through co-education, where values of education in equality have been incorporated into curricular materials through the elimination of gender stereotypes.
From our current educational system, the LOMCE, we work on the prevention of violence through conflict prevention and the peaceful resolution thereof, as well as for non-violence in all areas of personal, family and social life, and especially in the area of school bullying. To this we add the development of values that promote equality between men and women, as well as the prevention of gender violence. Therefore, the LOMCE contemplates the incorporation of civic and constitutional education in a transversal way in education, both in compulsory and post-compulsory education, and must be present in all subjects.
We are aware that it is essential to educate in equality between women and men and in respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, from childhood to adult education, but it is also important to involve families by generating actions that provide the instruments that allow early detection of gender violence that may occur in the family environment and within the school environment.
It is good to insist that the school transmits values of respect for the dignity of women and equality between men and women. In short, a comprehensive training is provided that allows them to shape their own identity, as well as build a conception of reality that integrates both knowledge and ethical assessment thereof.
The Strategic Plan for School Coexistence, recently presented by Minister Méndez de Vigo to the autonomous communities, also includes the importance of valuing and respecting the difference of sexes and equal rights and opportunities between them and rejecting stereotypes that imply discrimination between men and women, as well as rejecting violence, prejudices of any kind, sexist behaviors and peacefully resolving conflicts.
Having said all this, it is true that coexistence in school is always better than in the environment in which it is located, although there are some violent practices that should not be overlooked because they are in the minority, and action is already being taken, as is the case with school bullying or buylling. There is also a gender component in this minority violence that forces us to design prevention programs for students.
In short, to improve coexistence and promote equality and social cohesion, we must educate in values, but also continue working to improve the expectations of young people with the increase in graduation rates, continue reducing school dropout rates, in this case more worrying in males, which poses a risk of social exclusion that endangers social cohesion.
In conclusion, we must rely on challenges to continue convincing our young people of the need to train to strengthen personal autonomy that allows them to face family responsibilities from equality where the female and male models offered in the school are references of equality to form an open citizenship that transforms the forms of coexistence and, transfer the same concern to the whole society, which, in short, is ultimately responsible for building new models and shared solutions.
Antonio Hernández Lobo, Director of the Education Area of the Government Delegation in the Canary Islands
