Gomarus students still want to have school prosecuted: ‘It is unacceptable’ | Inland

The Public Prosecution Service stated in mid-June that the school had “exceeded the permissible limit”: “The school was an unsafe place for LGBTI students.” The investigation by the Public Prosecution Service confirmed that in 2016 the school forced a student to come out to the parents. The school had rules for dealing with gay students and teachers. Teachers also had to tell the board about homosexuality of students and other teachers. If, after a meeting with the board, a staff member would still “persist in his way of life or intention to do so”, the board would proceed to a “solution of the dilemma”, an internal memorandum showed in December.

However, the education inspectorate concluded at the end of May that the school is safe for everyone again and that “all the requirements of the inspectorate to improve the situation and guarantee the safety of LGBT people have been met.” The Public Prosecution Service declined to prosecute because the school had changed course and because no more incidents would have occurred since 2016.

Interest organization COC immediately called it “ridiculous” that there would be no criminal case and now says that the school has learned nothing at all from the issue and does not take any responsibility. “The Public Prosecution Service leaves these students out in the cold. It is important that prosecutions are still carried out and that it is also clear to other schools: what happened at Gomarus is unacceptable,” said a spokesperson for COC Netherlands.

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