The former students say in the newspaper that they were given the choice to tell their parents themselves, or have the school do so. “Your parents are already at the desk”, they were told. When they panicked and wanted to leave, the care coordinator locked the door of the room. The Gomarus rejects the practice of homosexuality on biblical grounds.
Went into therapy
Mace de With was one of the students this happened to in 2016. “We were put in a room in which we had to tell that we were in a relationship with someone of the same sex or that we liked it,” the former student says in the newspaper. NOS Radio 1 News. “I especially called and shouted a lot that I wanted to leave, but that was not allowed.”
De With says that she had spoken to her mentor about her then girlfriend.” He then told the care coordinator and they told the parents of my then girlfriend. I was told that by my girlfriend and then The same thing happened to me the next day.”
Mace de With’s parents “picked up well” after the first shock, but she was still traumatized. “I finally went into therapy for it in 2018.” She also went to another school immediately after the incident. She never got an apology from the Gomarus.
‘Safety of students comes first’
The school acknowledges that it did not go well in certain areas, but says its objective has always been to ensure the safety of students. Agreements would also have been made about how to deal with students and their sexual orientation.
The Inspectorate’s concern is that the duty of care is going wrong on the Gomarus. The school was not informed or was informed too late about the incidents mentioned in the newspaper and these have not led to an evaluation of the policy, according to the Inspectorate. According to the Inspectorate, there is still no policy on sexuality and sexual orientation.
“The board and the school pay a lot of attention to the safety of students and that is endorsed by many students. But it must do more for students with a different sexual orientation,” said the country lawyer.
The judge will give his verdict on September 7.
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