We would like to thank everyone for supporting our campaign. We are over 17,000 strong: it has been inspiring to see how many people care about this issue! A lot has happened in the last weeks and we’re eager to tell you all about it. The movement “Not Just Rumours”, to protect students from sexual misconduct in schools, is growing. On Friday May 11th, at 1:30 PM, students from across Toronto will participate in a walkout demonstration to break the education system’s code of silence around teachers who sexually harass students or engage in sexual misconduct at school. We are determined to ensure allegations that a teacher is abusing students are not dismissed as “just rumours." We have also sent a letter to Indira Naidoo-Harris, the Minister of Education of Ontario, and we are pleased to say we have gotten a response! You can read the letters here: https://bit.ly/2FPIlnH. In our initial letter to the Minister, we recommended that the following steps be taken to encourage much needed change across the system: (i) Boards of Education must make it mandatory for school officials to be trained to recognize and address signs of sexual harassment and related forms of professional misconduct; (ii) The Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) must guarantee that all school officials understand and are committed to using the disciplinary processes that follow from reporting such misconduct; and (iii) Principals, vice-principals and teachers must know what signs to look for, what questions to ask and the processes to follow so that they will be better prepared to satisfy the Protecting Students Act (PSA) abuse-related reporting requirements, whenever students are brave enough to report their experiences of being harassed by a teacher, vice-principal or principal. (iv) The PSA must require the OCT to revoke teachers’ licenses indefinitely in all cases where teachers are found guilty of sexual misconduct or abuse. Otherwise, students are exposed to unnecessary risks. Though we are thankful for the Minister's response, we are preoccupied that not all our concerns were addressed. We are asking for a clear definition of what sexual misconduct entails, for a plan to ensure adequate training for school staff and for a timeline as to when the reformed Act would be approved and implemented. We hope to have an open dialogue with her to find satisfying solutions, to ensure students can feel safe when going to school. We will keep you informed on further developments. Thank you again for your support and if you haven’t done it yet, please share our petition!