When the Agder Court of Appeal is set for the fourth day, it is time for Cecilie Haugen’s witnesses. Six peers and one younger woman testified about severe bullying at the primary and secondary school in Drangedal.
Last year, Drangedal municipality was ordered to pay more than two million kroner in compensation to Cecilie Haugen (31) for bullying she was exposed to at primary and secondary school in Drangedal. The municipality appealed the verdict.
The appeal case is now going to the Court of Appeal in Skien. Drangedal believes that the municipality is not responsible for compensation and that there is no connection between possible bullying and Cecilie’s health problems today.
Drangedal municipality’s lawyer Terje Marthinsen emphasizes that they have respect for the stories told in court.
– We have no information to verify their stories, we have to accept that these are their stories. The court must consider whether Cecilie has a claim, says Marthinsen.
Just got worse
Madeleine Robertsen (27) was born and raised in Drangedal. She left Drangedal secondary school four years after Cecilie Haugen did the same. On Friday, she testified in courtroom 1 in Skien.
– Everything got much worse when I started secondary school. In primary school, there were only casual remarks about “pizza nose”. At secondary school they called me “whore”, “miscarriage” and “50 øring”, because I wasn’t worth more than 50 øre. Eventually the boys started hitting me too, says Robertsen from the witness box.
– They said I was ugly
When asked how often this happened, the answer is “daily”. And the teachers knew, according to Madeleine, about the bullying.
– I could stand and howl in front of the principal and in front of the health nurse. They used to say that “this is just youth drama, tomorrow you will be friends and you will be ashamed of this outburst here”, says Madeleine.
Hid
She says that she hid inside during recess, did not dare to go out. Then the teachers asked her to go out, “if you don’t you will get a reprimand”, Madeleine tells Dagbladet.
– At home I wore big sweaters so they wouldn’t see the bruises, but at school I wore a singlet to show off the bruises. Once a fellow student pulled me in front of the teacher and said “look at this”. For a moment I actually thought I was going to get help, but she just said “neimen huff” and walked away, says Madeleine.
STORMING: It is stressful to go through yet another round of court, says Cecilie Haugen (31) (in the middle). Here with their lawyers Renate Lia and Johannes Kleppe.
sea view
– The bullying has left its mark, with PTSD and depression, she says.
Madeleine has also wanted to take legal action against the municipality and demand compensation.
– When I see how much adversity Cecilie faces, I think it will be impossible. When I see how much Cecilie has to fight, and neither the teachers, principal nor health nurse have documentation. It is so hard to be doubted like that, that I would not have coped with it, says Madeleine Robertsen.
– People called me a whore
– Were bullied together
On Friday morning, another witness also stood before the court. She was the closest, and only, friend Cecilie Haugen had at primary school.
– Cecilie and I were bullied together, says the lady who was in the same class as Cecilie at Bostrak primary school from the witness box.
– I remember once Cecilie and I were spat on and had pebbles thrown at us by older boys. It was a constant reminder that we were worth less, says the witness from the witness box.
When asked whether the school and the teachers knew about the bullying, the witness answers as follows:
– It was common knowledge that we were bullied. For us, this was the norm. We didn’t know anything else and thought that was how going to school was supposed to be, the woman replies.
Tied
She tells the court about a time when she was tied to a tree, and then beaten with sticks. When she got free and ran up to the teacher’s room and told this to a teacher, the answer, according to the witness, was: “I saw that”.
Drangedal municipality’s lawyer Terje Marthinsen has the following comment on today’s witnesses:
– I respect that the witnesses tell their stories, but to a limited extent they have mentioned Cecilie’s case in particular. It must be seen in the context of all the other witness statements that we had yesterday, he says to Dagbladet.
The day before, it was the municipalities’ witnesses who were brought to court.
THEIR STORIES: The witnesses mention Cecilie Haugen’s case to a limited extent, says Drangedal municipality’s lawyer Terje Marthinsen.
sea view
– Never again
A man, who was in Cecilie’s class at secondary school, testified about rough bullying experiences he himself was exposed to.
– Junior high school was the worst time in my life. It was freezing out and spreading rumours. Among other things, they threw my gym bag onto the roof. There were a lot of sore shoulders, says the man.
When asked what he means by “sore shoulders”, the man says that it stemmed from blows from the other boys.
The man has been in the Armed Forces and attended the officer’s school.
– I would rather take another week of hell than experience one day at secondary school again, he says from the witness box.
The man explains that he felt that the teacher did not care. The school staff said, according to the witness, that he just had to “man up – this was just teasing”.
The man regrets that he was not more together with Cecilie at secondary school.
– I saw that Cecilie sat alone a lot, under the stairs. She was bullied from day one. It was consistent, he says.
Referred to the mayor
Dagbladet has previously featured Cecilie’s case in a major special.
Then both the current headmaster at Drangedal 10-year-old school, which replaced Bostrak primary school when it closed down, the municipal director and the current municipal head of schools pointed out that the mayor is the one who must comment on Cecilie Haugen’s case. Drangedal municipality stated in the district court that Cecilie was not systematically bullied.
– We believe in the stories that have come to light, but from there to the fact that the municipality has responsibility in each individual case… That is something else, said mayor Tor Peder Lohne (Sp) in Drangedal municipality to Dagbladet then.
Lene Heibø Knudsen, municipal manager for upbringing, diversity and culture in Drangedal, has previously stated that she is disappointed with the image painted of Drangedal in the media.
– A picture has been painted in the media that Drangedal is a bully community, that there is a bully culture and it has been referred to as “bully village” repeatedly. There are strong allegations against a municipality. Many people in Drangedal do not recognize themselves in that description and they find it difficult to stand in, she explained to Dagbladet.
She has also previously stated that it must be tough for teachers who work in Drangedal to be exposed to allegations that they have seen and known about, but neglected, bullying.
