Social
Affairs Minister Wael Abou Faour said on Monday the case left an impact on all families, placing the onus on the
state to dissipate those fears.
Ministers Wael Abou Faour, Shakib kortbawi and Hassan Diad, Abou Faour held a joint press conference on Monday after a recent
sexual abuse case aroused fears within the Lebanese society.
Abou Faour
thanked media outlets, citing LBCI, for shedding light on the case.
He also urged
all media outlets not to adopt “sensationalism” pending the investigations’
results.
“As Lebanese, we should stop boasting about our
alleged immunity from unethical situations,” he stressed.
In turn, Kortbawi stressed the importance of raising
awareness among families to avoid similar incidents, adding that “what is important
is to acknowledge the problem rather than avoiding it.” He also called on all parents to keep a watchful
eye on their children.
In
turn, Diab said that “it is the Ministry of Education’s responsibility to
address the issue”, stressing the importance of taking strict measures against
the perpetrators and affiliates.
The
minister of education also called for launching an awareness campaign at
schools and for drawing up a clear strategy within one week to address similar cases.
Later in the day, Saint Joseph School Aintoura also held a press conference.
Father Antoine Nakad, the school's principle said that the school administration will strictly deal with
the
sexual assault case, without paving the way for rumors. He added, that the
administration will follow up closely on the students and that it is open to
all suggestions in those regards.
“if the
administration sees that the steps being taken are not enough, we are ready to do
what it takes to safeguard the rights of the victims." Nakad added that the school has assigned a lawyer to
file a compl
aint against the teacher.
After Father Nakad’s press conference, an
altercation took
place between victims parents who rejected Nakad’s statement, saying
that it is
not enough and demanding an apology.
Furthermore a group of parents decided to file a
complaint
and releasing in depth info of their children’s demise.
In a statement to LBCI, the victims’ lawyer Maroun
Abou
Charaf hoped that the legal measures will be quickly implemented, noting
that
the case is now at Mount of Lebanon’s Public Prosecution. Abou Charaf
expressed
his gratitude to the Minister of Social Affairs Wael Abou Faour for
personally
filing the complaint against the teacher.
Previously on Sunday, the administration of Saint Joseph
School Aintoura asked all media outlets to practice utmost
accuracy and professionalism while covering the case of its recently
fired 23
year old teacher suspected of sexually assaulting 11 students.
The school also announced that it will be having a normal school day on
Monday, and that it will be delivering letters of explanation to all
parents.
The administration added in a
statement that some media sources mishandled the story and portrayed it in the
frame of media slandering.
The school confirmed that it is
leaving the case up to the judiciary in light of developments that have followed
since the story’s broadcast.