JET Survey

 

Question: Did you, or do you know of anyone, that experienced physical/sexual harrasment/assault on the JET Program - what happened?

Responses...

 

ALT groped at a party: offender thought it was a 'joke'


Constant fondling by students.
Verbal assaults.
No back up by staff.
Sexual inquiries into my private life.
As an out gay jet, having every drunk ageing salaryman trying to "test" my sexuality at enkais and when I didn't accept their 'joking and drunk" offers, being set up on dates with their daughters.


Just minor comments on my breasts and butt made by various male teachers and the kyoto sensei and my first schools. I'd like to stress that this was my first year only. My current location is great.


I heard of many examples of people experiencing assault at the renewers conference. There was one example that was discussed during one of the seminars that was completely glossed over by the speaker. There were MEXT and CLAIR representatives who seemed more intent on silencing this person than trying to help him or her.

I believe that for these people to be brave enough to come forward in such a public forum means that they have not had enough help by anybody. To be pushed aside by representitives of an organization that should be interested in the problems and lives of JETS is not acceptable.

Then for CLAIR to have the gall to say that all matters should be referred to each person's BOE and get the JET'S supervisor to sort the problems out, further adds insult to injury. The fact is that, by doing this, CLAIR itself is also bullying the victim and becoming a willing participant in the cycle of abuse.


inappropriate comments at enkais, happens frequently with the female jets around my area.


Teachers and students make comments about my body and private life all the time. Some can be very offensive. But I know the standards here are different and Japan as a whole is a bit behind the times. I simply refuse to allow them to think that their actions and words are appropriate and for the most part, the comments stop. I have never felt physically threatened.


Girl got stalked and attacjed had her panties stolen, CLAIR, BOE et al did fuck all. She left!


Something about a drunken guy at an enkai. Don't know any details. I've been WAITING to get a little action from my teachers/administrators/whoever, but so far nothing. What's wrong with me?


One of the teachers at my base school liked to take the new female AETs into a small stationary cupboard to get to know them a bit better. Went on for a few years before Kocho Sensei was told, and gave him a slap on the wrist. He's still at my base school, but hasn't tried it with me, as he certainly wouldn't get very far.


Comments mostly, a married man asking out one of the JETs on a date. And saying she looks sexy etc. while at work.


Just heard rumors through websites and mailing lists, but personally know of noone (out of hundreds of JETS I am acquainted with) who has had a problem described above.


A girl from the city BOE (not my BOE, I work at the prefectural one) supposedly got attacked and harassed on the densha by a Japanese guy. I don't know how serious the attack was, but according to what I heard from another ALT in our city, she screamed for help on the densha and nobody did a thing to try and get this guy away from her. At the next densha stop she got away and jumped off, got in a taxi and went home. I say that I heard of this happening because although I had met the girl in question, she never directly told me what happened and I never asked; this is the (short) version of the story that I heard from another ALT who was friends with her. The girl who was attacked ended up going back to her home country before her contract was up.


I heard a story of a group photo, while they were waiting for the picture to be taken the kocho sensei reached around and touched my friend between the legs...she almost broke his toe.


Lots of drunken enkai type stuff... or random salaryman on the street... nothing in my opinion that was serious.


I was told by a friend that a co-worker bit her at an Enkai


Students in the past grabbed me. I don't think it's anything major. These students only did it once. I repremended them. During enkais some male teachers would sexually harass me verbally.


One JET was almost kidnapped and another was stalked by a Japanese men.


Only heard stories on internet or third or fourth hand.


Stories at the re contracting conference during seminars. I am sure they are recorded somewhere here.


There's a guy in my staffroom who is well known as a sexual harasser. His hand held computer is full of photographs of female students he has downloaded from his keitai camera. He has come into one of the smaller seperate staffrooms in the building while a female member of staff was working late and kind of cornered her in there and made her feel threatened. He comes over to my desk and tries to look down my shirt, picks at my lunch or picks up something from my desk, leans over me in this offensive way and tries to chat. I take the piss and ignore him. But he's touching my students and I don't know what to do about it. I'm told that until he has 'commited a crime' there's nothing that can be done (????!!!).


I have a friend who used to work on JET. He was working at the worst high school in the ken. The very first day of school, a student tried to put him into a full nelson. He is a large man, so he basically fended the student off. This wasn't the only instance of something like that with him, but it's the only one he gave me the details of.


Oh, I heard about a girl who quit JET because her kyoto sensei fell in love with her and made ir really difficult for her to do her job.
Another girl was willingly having sex with her kyoto sensei, but I think that was of her own accord and not much of a big deal.
Though keep in mind that these are things that I've only heard second-hand and don't know as fact.


My BOE treated like a dumb blond with big boobs. They made comment in Japanese thinking I would never know. But another JET heard the comments and told me to make me aware.Above I explained how it got resolved. : When I needed help with my BOE actually I felt it would be better for my sanity to leave in Dec. Clair tried to scare me into staying. They told how much money I would owe my BOE. They did not even address my problem. The acted as though I was the problem and I was just going through culture shock. They game no useful advice not even a number to a support line. I finally spoke to my AP and her boss came out to speak to my BOE. It was a very big deal and my BOE did not treatment better just differently. They never apologized just told me that I misunderstood the situation. "Hmm let me see, I misunderstood you talking to my breast, yup you are right my mistake"!


inappropriate comments made by students during class about a female ALT


someone I know (female) was set up by a teacher to be alone with him while he was undressing.


Minor - but was asked my cup size at an enkai, I know some people experience a lot worse but you asked!


Students openly masturbating in class- teachers laughing


2 cases-one old married man kept asking me out, always sat next to me at enkais, gave me presents. This might not sound like a big deal, but there are ways to make people feel very uncomfortable without "doing" anything. Ways of looking at them, their chest for example.

second- one man has apparently seen me swimming at the local pool and always stares at me in a lecherous way. At an enkai, he grabbed hold of my arm and tried to get me to go off with him to a bar. I tried to laugh it off, and pulled away. However, now I can never feel safe at enkais or actually enjot them cos of the potential danger.


Kyoto who consistantly made inapropriate comments.

Also I was stalked by someone who the school knew. The letters from this person would arrive at the school, and were sexually explicit (the person is 25 years older than I). I showed them every letter. The school did nothing.


I have been touched at numerous enkais etc. Unwanted sexual touching etc.

I was jumped by a van of foreigners (not Japanese, no one I knew) but got away in my 2nd year. Police couldn't help but some boys I know punished them.

Verbal sexual harassment by the BOE kacho 3 or 4 times a month for 3 years. I have seen him touching other women too. They took all women out of the BOE, and are asking for a male ALT from now on. But he still goes on and on.


A male colleague coming into a female JET's personal space at work and at a social function. Uninvited touching in a "trying-to-be-inconspicuous/accidental" manner.


I met a girl at the recontracting conference who reported being beaten by her students on a regular basis.
I have also been told by women I know that various co-workers tend to be skebbe when drunk, however, I am not sure that they feel threatened enough to term that sexual harrasment.


In one class, incessant sexual remarks aimed at me by male students - "do you like fellatio," "do you like big dicks," etc., plus rude gestures. the JTE stood by and did nothing, despite my requests for intervention.

This went on for two or three class meetings. I dealt with this on my own by verbally chastising the students. It eventually stopped.

Other incidents were not as continuous. When I verbally expressed disapproval, the harassment stopped.


Male students kept on staring at my breasts for the whole class, some female students even tried to grab them, JTE laughed nervously but didn't scold them. Male students telling me things such as : "I want to play sex with you" in a rather menacing way while no teachers are around, or asking anything else related to sex. Most of these baddies have graduated now, but they did scare me for real.


Students threw chairs at ALT. SHe left Japan.


a man stalked my friend for 3 months, eventually took a knife to her house and cut the security lights that her school had installed.
-a man riding a bicycle exposed himself to my friend (who was walking), and then followed her for 20 minutes.


grabbing
may have been a misunderstanding
maybe not


sexual assult by another JET,


Never heard of it happening within the Jet program rather outside in the wider world of Japan


A student rubbed himself up against me in front of a cheering crowd of other students. But I reported the incident and it was dealt with satisfactorily by my school.


I've had students say "umai" to me when I walk by and then tell me the they're "hungry" in English. I am female and these were male students. Teachers told me they were just saying that I was a good teacher. The students saying these things, in my opinion, could care less how I taught and were constantly bullying me which lead me to believe that these may not be regular, everyday occurances.


a teacher groped the breasts of a JET


A friend had a really evil JHS in which they would fight, try to hit her, swear at her, and threw her stuff from a window. The TT had absolutely no control and had given up trying, even to create civility towards the Jet. The friend eventually had to tell her BoE that she would no longer go there.


There's a girl I know from a SIG who got punched by one of her students, and when she hit him back, she got fired...

another girl, in my prefecture, on her first night in Japan, her supervisor (a guy) tried to kiss her...


At an enkai, one of the teachers I work with slapped me on the head twice infront of everyone at the party and told me to stay away from Japanese girls. He then continued to repeat `` Remember Pearl Habour`` to me for the remainder of the night.


The incedent above involving me and a teacher commenting on aspects of my body: Nothing major, invasion of space. A small case of sexual harassment (It was taken care of straight away and not supported by the other teachers).

Another experience happened to a friend. She was nearly raped. Her BOE told her to be quiet about it. The police did not help. No one wanted to help her. She was also harrased by her down-stairs neighbor who poured severl unpleasent things into her mailbox (including something looking like blood.) Also, dispite contants requests, the same neighbor was unreasonable in the noise she made through out the evening and into the early morning hours.
The BOE refused to help. She is also a Nara Jet.


I heard a girl had a knife pulled on her but she is known to 'tell' stories.


My friend's principal is constantly trying to touch her. Another friend's co-teacher is always staring at her breasts eventhough she covers it up by holding a folder in front of her.


I Know a female jet was followed home and jumped, I am constantly sexually harrased at pta enkais by the fathers of my students who think it is appropriate to grab my chest,lear at me,ask me how old I was when i lost my virginity etc.


Well, Im not sure what happened with a girl I know, but at the least they said some rank stuff to her. She left several months into the programme


children grabbing JET's balls, and sticking their hand up JET's arses


Some JETs in the prefecture are yelled at by students in class and the JTEs don't do anything about it. These JETs also feel threatened.


I have a friend whose supervisor constantly tells her he is in love with her. he gives her things and writes her emails. it is progressing and she feels uncomfortable.


A JET was raped by another JET.


She was invited to an enkai only to be asked when she lost her virginity, how big her 'cunt' was, how many men she slept with and had her bum and breast fondled. This after repeated announciations of "DAME!" on her part. When taking it up with the BOE and demanding an apology from the men, she was asked if she, "really wanted to go through with it". A seeming attempt to avoid "rocking the boat", the men were all regional politicians. She gave up on the BOE and fortunately her supervisor and Kocho were furious. They called the men into school and lectured them. The men apparently said, "we weren't taught you couldn't say things like that in school."


Sexual Harassment. She complained, the bOE etc. were bitter.


kocho sensei just being a little too close for my liking. It wasn't harrassment, but it definately made me uncomfortable and when I went to one of my JTE's for help, I wsa basically given a lecture how I am in Japan now and I must never embarass kocho sensei because then he would think i was rude!! i guess it just told me that if anything more serious were to ever happen, I don't know who I would got to for support


I suffered a groping from my Kocho-sensei at a Jr. High enkai. It was in my first few months of arriving in Japan. I told my friend, a math teacher, about it, but she explained how everything is *forgotten* the day after the enkai. Charming, no? I never told my supervisor or BOE staff, but I think they would have been fairly responsive if I had.


A friend was being sexually harrassed at work by several teachers and had several stalkers try to break into her apartment on numerous occasions.


friends who get groped and grabbed at enkais. and girls having drunk men expose themselves to them in the street at night.


happens everytime large group of jets get together.
Unwanted sexually advances are forced upon both other jets and Japanese people


Students leering and saying nasty things in English at them.


More than once. I have had a few experiences. I actually think that my city is really bad for it and I will not walk anywhere on my own at night anymore. Recently, I was followed home (in twilight hours) from the train station to my apartment block (a 20 minute walk). When this has happened in the past (by people in cars), it usually doesn't bother me. But this guy followed me in his car and was constantly harrassing me about getting in to his car, and asking me questions about myself. I just told him to go away in Japanese and I don't understand (usually that is enough). I thought he was going to leave me alone, as he drove on a bit further. But, when I came round the corner, he had got out of his car and was walking towards me. He kept asking me if I had a boyfriend and was really close at this stage. I felt really threatened as he wasn't a short salayman, but a tall young guy. I took out my phone and called my friend (so he would leave me alone). I also walked r!
eally fast past him and screamed for him to go away. He did get the message and drove off. The worst part is that he lives in my apartment block. I told my supervisor the next day and she didn't take it seriously at all. She literally said that "he was just talking to you". I was so annoyed, since, when does a guy follow a lone women for 20 mins in the car, and get out, just want to talk. I had no back up from my school as I wanted to go to the Police. I was just ignored - they probably thought I was being the "overreacting foreigner". It was so bad for me, as the school had to back me up on this, as there was no way I could go to the police without a teacher translating. The fact that they weren't even the slightest bit concerned confirmed my decision to not recontract was the right one.


The young woman was repeatedly sexually harrassed by her male students e.g; extremely crass comments were shouted about her genitals and what they wanted to do to them etc, and she was often pushed around by one particular aggressive student.
Needless to say, after constantly asking for help from the JTEs she was teaching with to step in, then her supervisor and other teachers at her school and receiving absolutely no assistance, she broke her contract and left Japan.
Prior to leaving she tried everything possible to have the situation improved.
Her Prefectural Advisor made a visit to her school to observe the students' behaviour, but guess what? The school primed the students for the visit and threatened them to behave appropriately and of course they did. As a result the Prefectural Advisor could not fault the school on anything and the JET teacher's claim had to be dismissed.


Only very subtle harassment at school parties. Nothing I felt threatened by, and no assault.


Nothing specific...just the stories on BigDaikon and elsewhere.


i had a teacher grab my breast at a drinking party and i slapped him....he has not tried to touch me again


I heard of a woman whose students threw so much stuff at her-- pencils, etc.-- during class that she started to wear a raincoat to class. Staff knew & did nothing. I heard third-hand about a woman who by the end of a typical day had bruises from students' "horse-play." Don't know what was done about it. I know a woman whose students shouted "Fuck me!" in Emglish, repeatedly, in an all-male class. The JTL scolded them.


I don't know enough detail to explain, usually stories involve inappropriate comments from staff or students and in some cases inappropriate touching. Most of these stories end with the culprits laughing it off as a joke.


I believe someone was grabbed at school.


I heard about girls getting groped by co-workers at enkais.


Apparantly the women in our prefecture once got together and swapped sexual harassment stories over a drink.
The harassment happened by other members of the faculty (gym teachers seem to be at fault more often) and it has ranged from pornographic e-mails to harassing telephone calls to invitations to motels.


teachers keep grabbing my ass for fun


The female JET was stalked by a member of the public. The school's go between was unsympathetic when the JET asked to be relocated to another address when it became obvious that the harasser knew the JET's address and continued the harrassment there.


I have stopped going to enkais because of this. The last time I went an old man who works for the Town Hall started hassling me to go back to his hoiuse and "play" with him. I refused and tried to find a polite way to tell him to fuck off. Eventually I left early to get away from him. He followed me out to my boss's car and got in too. He then carried on all teh way home until I finally told him about my Japanese boyfriend. My two bosses laughed and did nbothing to help me, even though one is a woman.

I have also been at a business meeting where the mayor of one of the vilalges I work in spent the whole time talking about my breasts and how exciting they were.


A student contiuously shouts out that he loves me, asks me about my partner, calls me "Honey" in front of students and teachers and nothing has ever been done to stop this.


at parties a girl was continually grappled. Her hand was either held, which she would politely pull her hand away, or some of the men would touch her leg.


Several times I have gone to a party at the vice Principal's house. Him and his wife and their group of friends have been really good to me but at these parties he gets quite drunk and offensive. One time he sat talking with a friend and and a male exchange student and they were talking about Japanese school girls and whether he found them attractive, it was complete objectification. Then he moved on to talking about me and his neice (we were sitting between them and so they were leaning over us to talk) and they started to speculate about the size of our thighs and saying that we wouldn't look good in miniskirts (fair enough, we wouldn't but I was mortified and ended up in tears.) Another time he got really drunk and kept saying he loved me, again and again in front of everyone. This time he specified that it wasn't sexual but like a daughter (thank god for that!) but it was still embarrassing. I have to go to these things out of politness but everytime he m!
akes a spectacle of me and I don't have enough Japanese to defend myself. I know this is pretty small on the scale of things but I still see it as very unproffessional and rude.


A FEMALE JTE STARTING STALKING MY BOYFRIEND, WHO TEACHES AT A SMALL TOWN IN KUMAMOTO PREFECTURE. SHE WOUDL CONSTANTLY VISIT HIM AT NIGHT AND RING HIM UP. HOWEVER, HE TOLD HER TO STOP PESTERING HIM AND SHE DID.


I read about a girl who was assaulted, but she got away unharmed. The story was in one of those handbooks.


a friend was struck by a pupil at a shs. a friend has had an overfriendly teacher. And i personally have been followed around the supermarket, and two attempted followings home.


My friend was sexually harrassed and physically threatened by her students, which began the second week she was there.
She asked for help and no one at the school or the Board of Education was willing to. Her supervisor told lies in order to reduce payment when she left in December. She did not receive a lot of help from our PA or Clair. It got to the point where she was afraid to stay at her house due to the threat. The situation was blamed on the fact that she was a woman and her main JTE got beat up by the students every day. Until the second she left, she had to fight for two months for her security and recognition of the situation.


A fellow JET in my ken had her breasts grabbed by her BOE katcho at an enkai.


I heard a girl was sexually harrassed a lot by her students and she felt that no one would help her or do anything about it.


A male japanese teacher pinched the behind of a female ALT at an Enkai


A Sendai JET was getting hit and bruised by her students and no one was doing anything about it.


My students beat me for 10 months. The school refused to do anything. Finally I lost my temper and grabbed a student, and was about to beat him senseless before I realized and put him down.

My school supervisor refused to take me to see a doctor when I had an infection in my eye. Instead he told me i wasn't sick. Then, when I asked Kocho-sensei fi I could go see a doctor, the JTE said I only had 'kebyo' (a fake illness). Luckily Kocho-sensei thought that having one eye swollen shut and the other completely red, was a difficult illness to fake. So, my supervisor sent me to a clinic where no english was spoken, alone, in a snow storm on my bike, with a hand drawn map consisting of 3 lines and a few nasty reprimands about wasting his time. I was misdiagnosed, the doctor gave me the wrong medicine. To make a l ong story short, 3 doctors, 11 months and 1 trip home later, I am only now on the road to recovery.

there are many other things, but being routinely punched, kicked and slapped in class and being unable to see properly for the rest of my life top the list and render the others rather paltry in comparison.My supervisor at the BOE was quite good about helping me find a second (and a third) doctor while trying to treat my eyes.

However, when i t came to the beating problem, the BOE supervisor made excuses for the students who hit me, and almost came out saying that it was my fault that students hit me. they refused to even TALK to my school to find out what was going on. I've explained it above.


Groping on the train. But for myself, it wasnt on the job either, but in facing strangers in Japan, on the trains or at the stations. Drunk men, bums trying to touch me or propositioned me to go with them. (many times)


Me, and other friends are subjected to having our genitalia touched on many occassions by over inquisitive students.
Can't say it really bothers me, but when a teacher see's it happening, maybe they should tell the students to stop rather than just looking, smiling and then walking off.


One male teacher was attacked by a student in the classroom, who hurled a desk at him. One female ALT was grabbed on the chest by students, while teachers giggled and made comments about her "naisu badei"


The incidents that occurred are not workplace related events and as such bear less relation to the JET programme survey. The circumstances are largely the result of being an unsuspecting and conspicuous target in a community less accustomed to foreign women. In spite of this, I`m happy to report an extremely swift, considerate and generous reaction came from the school last September, even including arrangements for a complete change of accommodation and local police night patrol visits during the interim period.


It was only a rumor, so I don't know for sure, but she made sure that the man who did it had a lot of paperwork to deal with for awhile.


I had a minor run-in with a violent student. His homeroom teacher made him apologize. A female JET I knew was punched by a male student.


I have heard of women getting unwanted advances from male supervisors and co-workers.


Confidential.


teachers coming to our houses in the middle of the night asking us to Party, and always touchng us at school.


Drunk teacher at enkai made lewd remarks to her. Her was severely reprimanded and made to apologize in front of superiors.


Several cases within Oita Prefecture alone that I heard of at JET meetings---the usual knickers being nicked off of balconies, but also one of a girl who came home one night and had to fight off and throw out some asshole who'd broken into her place and was waiting for her to come home, presumably to rape her. Also the story of a university friend of mine who came to Japan on JET and was stalked and harassed repeatedly and obsessively for months, even after begging her BOE and the local police for help. Bastards---fuckem.


I know a guy who got hit by a JrHS student. He quit a few years ago because he was frustrated with being stuck teaching in JrHS but I think he actually lost his mind and went crazy


A friend's supervisor asks her to have sex with him, once he has started drinking at enkais. This has happened a few times.


I had a friend who the Kocho grabbed her breasts at an enkai and told the entire party that she was his "take home" that night.


Only a verbal assault. But an assault nonetheless.


Do not wish to include details


verbal sexual harrasment by students, coworkers


a friend was assaulted in a sexual manner at a convenience store


I am a JET whose parents are asian. To some Japanese men however I look like I am a stripper from the Philippines apparently! So I have been groped, propositioned and leered at, followed, shouted at etc. Not so bad but still very scary for a single woman on her own in Japan! Complaining to my supervisor was pointless. Complaining to my school was met with shocked and outraged expressions that this happened to me and they were very supportive and tried as hard as they could to help keep me safe (lifts home etc).
At one BOE enkai I was leered at by a co worker who told me I was sexy and would I come to a love hotel with him! I`m sorry but I don`t think two mizuwari`s is an excuse for sexual harrassment of the ALT! Again only my school helped me to complain.
My experience is by no means isolated. Fellow jets have had nasty men masturbate in front of them on a train, grope them, follow them home etc and not had anything done.


One of my teachers was following me around everywhere for about three months. I appealed to the principal, the prefecture and my city all to no avail. On day this damn control freak came after me. Forturnately another teacher called me where I was and told me to "Nigete" run away FAST because this psycho was coming and no one was really sure what he was going to do. I left the school that day, running, and never went back. I later received two letter from the teacher who warned me to run away telling me that I should never come back to the school because it was too dangerous. I didn't.
BOEprobs = yes
BOEproblems = Mainly, ignoring my problems with that teacher and the principal who subsequently threatened to tell the teacher I was ratting him out if I didn't keep my mouth shut. They said firing him was not an option even though this man, I happen to know, has a 20 year history of violence against students and problems with previous AETs that runs from town to town.


stalking behaviour


BOE and school tried to do something about it, they really tried, but the teacher couldn't really be made to stop. In this case, it was just masochistic comments that were directed to the female ALT, of a non-threatenign nature, so nothing much could be done besides talk. However, everyone was made aware, and many were very sympathetic. The ALT has decided against staying int he program this year for this reason.


Verbal harrassment on the part of a teacher at school. The teacher was a very masochistic Japanese male and did not undertsand that his "manliness" is very offensive to women. He doesn't undertsand that he is offensive, as he has been saying the same things to the Japanese women he's around, who have obviously not told him that they were ofec\nded, or have expected to be soken to as such all their lives. (I mean no offense to Japanese women, but some of the things that are firmly set into Japanese "culture" pertaining to the treatment of women/women's status are just unacceptable, and not many fo these women speak up.) The teacher was made aware of the situation by the school and the Prefectural BOE, but nothing much could be done as light, but constant verbal harrassment (inappropriate comments and condescention) is not an offense that can account for punishment.


Some people think it's funny, but I think it is completely out of line for students to try and grab my breasts.


At enkais my head of teachers always asks me very personal questions such as what size penis I like, and whether I've ever had anal sex, or done the '69' position. It got worse and worse, and I eventually said something when he asked me at school what colour my pubic hair was. It has been terrible, and even though I'm a fairly easy going person who can put up with mild banter he has gone far too far. I complained to my BOE and as I have to move schools for my third year they have replaced me with a male.


One occassion a teacher asked me to be his lover.
The other occassion my supervisor was touching my legs, trying to hold my hand, and asking me what kind of underwear do I have.


one friend sexually harrassed
i had a knife held at my neck in class by a student


if you mean while at on-the-job stuff, one girl was made to feel uncomfortable at an enkai by her vice principle. if you mean off-the-job, i know several women who have been the victims of weird and quasi-sexual stalkings and incidents. i.e. being afraid to leave their houses, being followed, etc.


kids would jump on my friend and try and grab his balls cos he is a foreigner, same thing happnened to one of my female ALT friends as she had her breasts gropped by male students, behind teh teachers back...


I heard of many examples of people experiencing assault at the renewers conference. There was one example that was discussed during one of the seminars that was completely glossed over by the speaker. There were MEXT and CLAIR representatives who seemed more intent on silencing this person than trying to help him or her.

I believe that for these people to be brave enough to come forward in such a public forum means that they have not had enough help by anybody. To be pushed aside by representitives of an organization that should be interested in the problems and lives of JETS is not acceptable.

Then for CLAIR to have the gall to say that all matters should be referred to each person's BOE and get the JET'S supervisor to sort the problems out, further adds insult to injury. The fact is that, by doing this, CLAIR itself is also bullying the victim and becoming a willing participant in the cycle of abuse.