They say school officials won't listen, so concerned parents took their message to the streets Thursday. Rebecca Wiseman tells us she organized the effort because her 12-year-old daughter has been sexually harassed and bullied over the last few months. And according to Wiseman, there are lots of silent victims walking the halls.
"How many smacks on the hand, how many of these kids are just gonna do this and go back to school and do it over and over again, because nobody is learning a lesson,” Wiseman said. “It takes the first step of them putting down their foot for everybody to say, you know what, I probably shouldn’t do this."
She wants students to know they can speak up, and something will actually be done about it.
We checked in with Baltimore County Public Schools and a spokesperson tells us they investigate every accusation. Saying in part "The school system takes very seriously all accusations of inappropriate behavior, including sexual assault or abuse."
Child abuse prevention expert, Adam Rosenberg, says these types of investigations can take time. And we don't always know what's going on behind the scenes.
"Schools themselves shouldn’t be doing the investigations on their own,” said Rosenberg. “Schools should be working with their partners in law enforcement, and child welfare and children's advocacy centers to be able to appropriately do these investigations."
