Puerto Rico Development Project

The Washington Center

Córdova and Fernós Congressional Internship Program

Puerto Rico Development Project:

Gender perspective and LGBTTIQ bullying prevention methods/protocol for teachers

By: Débora L. Aponte, Diana Sotomayor, Emilio Cruz, Lireiza Rodríguez

Lorena León, Gisela Ruiz and Yamila Pino

December 2nd, 2013

Advisor: Alexandra Ojeda

Fall 2013
 I. Identifying the problem and statistics

Bullying is an issue that concerns us all and it is defined as “an unwanted aggressive behavior

that implies a misbalance in real or perceived power”. This behavior is against the Section 5 of Article

II of our Constitution: “Every person has the right to an education which promotes the full

development of personality and strengthens respect towards human rights and fundamental liberties.”1

Parenting Resources LLC conducted a study titled Bullying in Puerto Rico: A Descriptive

Study with a sample of 10,229 students ranging from 3rd grade to 12th grade. Since the students were

from public and private schools from all over the island, including the municipalities of Vieques and

Culebra, the samples were very diverse. The study concluded that 13% of the students surveyed had

been victims of bullying two or more times during the 2013 school year. Also, 6% of the surveyed

students admitted that they had bullied other students during that period. According to the results,

20% of the students being bullied are in elementary school while 11% of them are from middle school

and 8% are in high school. Another alarming fact is that 35% of students reported that teachers do not

deal adequately with bullying cases in their schools and that there is no protocol for teachers to follow

in these situations.2

The Puerto Rico Stop Bullying Association conducted another study in 2010 in order to find

the causes and incidences of this behavior in various schools of the island. 716 students in middle

school were surveyed and 60% of them perceived the usage of mocks to be the most common form of

bullying in school. 40% of them said that insults and threats were the most common way of bullying.

The study concluded that bullying did not affect too much the physical of the individual but that the

social and emotional components of the person were greatly affected.3

 The LGBTTQI community has been related to a high incidence of bullying cases. The Center

for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States carried out a study and found out that

LGBTTQI students have a higher risk of being bullied at school in comparison with other students

based on the aggressive attitudes and negative perceptions towards this community. 4

The results of the studies mentioned demonstrate that it is fundamental to have capacitated

teachers who can provide the necessary conditions and promote a broad, tolerant and inclusive gender

perspective in public and private schools. Children need to be educated as responsible citizens that

respect one another regardless of gender, gender identity and/or sexual orientation. The capacitation

of teachers and other professionals in public schools will facilitate educational dynamics to promote

gender equality and tolerance towards different sexualities and will establish the basis for effective

protocols on how to handle discriminatory, intolerant and violent actions inside the classroom.

II. Current initiatives to address the issue and the Schools of San Juan’s pilot project

Recently a bill was passed (P.S. 238) that protects people from discrimination due to perceived

or real gender identity and/or sexual orientation in all public agencies in Puerto Rico. This bill includes

the Department of Education as well.5 This is a great advancement in the struggle for equality and

inclusiveness but there is still a lot of work to be done in order to eliminate LGBTTQI-phobia and

bullying related to it in schools.

A recent initiative to address bullying in schools is P.C. 1424 presented by Representative

Ramón Luis Cruz Burgos and co-sponsored by eight legislators. This bill, if passed, would establish

new public policy to intervene with bullying by creating a protocol for prevention, discipline and

follow-up assessment towards the victim and the bully.6

 P.C. 1424 is an important step to better the flawed protocols and traditional methods used in

schools to address bullying. The bill establishes the institutional responsibilities and obligations that

three important agencies (public schools, Department of Education and the Division of Community

Education in the Puerto Rico Police Department) must follow.

Public schools:
● Develop a protocol that includes prevention and intervention procedures. This protocol
will also include disciplinary sanctions and follow up assessment of bullying cases that will
vary in each school depending on their respective realities and necessities.
● Educate teachers, professionals, parents and guardians about bullying through educational
workshops.
● Create support services for the bullied student, the bully and any other person affected by
the situation.
● Create a committee composed of members from the school that will serve as intermediaries
in cases of bullying.
● Inform about the institutional policies against bullying adopted by each school.
● Coordinate a network of support services to implement this public policy that will include
governmental agencies, organizations and/or private corporations.

Department of Education:
● Must monitor that public schools comply with all the responsibilities that the bill
establishes.
● Investigate and publish information about bullying in Puerto Rico, its modalities, types and
consequences.
● Create statistics about the bill’s implementation process.
● Corroborate that teachers and professionals comply with the requisite of taking bullying
prevention workshops.
Puerto Rico Police Department – Prevention and Community Education Division:
● Educate and make aware teachers, professionals, parents and/or guardians about this public
policy, its sanctions and disciplinary measures that the bill establishes.

Even though this bill promotes education that will encourage inclusiveness, tolerance and

respect we think it is not comprehensive because…

1. It does not make bullying due to gender and/or sexual orientation visible

Although the bill does include that it will protect everyone from bullying due to gender and/or

sexual orientation it does not establishes a protocol or specific parameters to follow for these cases.

2. The Puerto Rico Police Department as an educational resource

Article 8 of P.C. 1424 establishes that the Puerto Rico Police Department will be in charge of

implementing educational workshops targeted at students, teachers and other school professionals.

The Police Department should not be the designated agency used for these purposes for a wide

array of reasons.

First of all, including the Police infers a criminalization process that is not consistent with

the nature of this bill. The bill promotes a non-punitive approach to bullying.

Also, Article 8 does not clarify the curriculum or protocol that the Police Department will

use to implement the educational workshops. Furthermore, we do not know the preparation or

credentials of the members of the Prevention and Community Education Division.

 Last but not least, we are handling this responsibility to an apparatus that was sued by the

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in 2012 for violations of civil liberties, human rights and

violence towards citizens. ACLU published a report that made everyone aware that the Police

Department had incurred in an excessive use of force, severely limited citizens’ freedom of speech

and violated basic constitutional rights such as the right to assembly.7

3. The bill does not include nonprofits or community organizations that deal with the
topics and issues the bill wants to address.

The bill does not contemplate in any manner the inclusion of the third sector, that is,

organizations that directly deal with the issue and have experience in a wide array of topics

regarding bullying. These organizations include the Matria Proyect, Taller Salud, the Women and

Gender Studies Program at the UPR and many others.

These nonprofits and educational programs are valuable resources that can contribute and

develop better protocols and workshops. Moreover, they all have experience with topics such as

domestic violence, gender perspective and the LGBTTIQ community which is at a higher risk

when it comes to bullying.

4. The bill does not require workshops or curriculums with gender perspective

It is very alarming that the bill does not contemplate gender perspective at all. Without a gender

perspective, domestic violence cases, LGBT bullying cases and hate crimes will keep occurring.

Another interesting initiative is being developed in San Juan. The municipality of San Juan

through the Institute of Gender and Advanced Education (“Matria Proyect”) is offering workshops on
gender perspective to teachers from the Schools of San Juan. Although this is a pilot project it is a

very relevant initiative and its curriculum includes exercises similar to the ones we propose. This pilot

project could later be implemented in public schools at other municipalities as well. We have reached

out to the Matria Proyect and to the professionals at the Program of Women and Gender Studies

(University of Puerto Rico) and they have been very willing to cooperate with us to implement this

bill and contribute their talent and knowledge to the workshops.

III. Recommendations

A. Our initiative

The bill that we propose entails that the Department of Education provides the necessary

funds and resources so that teachers from the public system obtain a Certificate of Advanced Education

on gender perspective and violence prevention on the basis of gender, gender identity and/or sexual

orientation. This bill would impose an obligation on the Department of Education so that it can

reaffirm and reactivate its public policy related to gender equality and domestic violence prevention.

The Department of Education will design an educational program for teachers that will

contemplate no less than twenty (20) contact hours of advanced education including the following

topics: gender perspective with a focus on the different roles, identities and social constructs. These

workshops will be taught from an inclusive and pluralist perspective in order to prevent all types of

violence: gender violence and discrimination based on real or perceived gender identity and/or sexual

orientation.

These classes will include alternatives and an effective protocol to handle all types of

violence inside the classroom and will promote the study and questioning of those functions that are

culturally imposed and which exclude and degrade women in comparison to men. They will also
encourage that the material discussed in class presents both men and women exercising all types of

professions and practicing equality and respect. These courses will also promote inclusive language

and will make even more visible women’s contributions to our country. Apart from this, these courses

will also encourage equal access to both girls and boys to classes and activities which are traditionally

limited to only one sex.

B. Action Steps:

1. Exercises for Teachers

The goals of these exercises are to recognize the importance of gender equality in daily life

at a personal and social level8. Teachers can recognize their own perceptions, images and stereotypes

of gender9.

a) Gender Roles

Chores The man The man The man The The The Both
woman woman woman
Most of Sometimes Never
the time Most of Sometimes Never
the time
Prepares
the food
Prepares
roast beef
Supplies
the pantry
Washes the
dishes
Washes the
bathroom
Washes the
clothes
Folds the
clothes
Repairs the
car
Changes
the oil
Changes
the tires
Does the
garden
Feeds the
baby
Changes
the diaper
Reads
stories at
night
Repairs
toys
In charge
of
discipline

b) Gender perceptions

✓ Would you say that men and women are different? In what sense/aspect?

✓ In respect to the erotic and affective relations, would you describe the behavior of

men and women as different? In what aspect?

✓ Where do these differences come from? From the nature of each sex? From

family and/or education? From a social or cultural belief? Why?

✓ Does the conception of the role of women that the teacher has affect her/his

pedagogic relation with his/her students? In what way?

✓ Would you like that said conception to change? Why? In what direction?
 ✓ As to that change, what concerns to the educational institute in its widest sense?

What concerns the teachers and the students?10

2. Exercises for Students

This activity explores concepts and the knowledge of students about words used every

day when it comes to speaking about gender. It can be done in groups of students or individually.

a) Game of Concepts

Concept Definition Example

Sex Biological differences between
men and women. It is
determined genetically.
Coincides in place, time and
culture.
Gender Theory based in the inferiority
of the feminine sex based on
the biological differences.
Women take care of the
children, prepare meals; men
work with cars and carry heavy
objects.
A study of 224 cultures
revealed that in 5 of them the
men was in charge of cooking
and in 36 the women were in
charge of domestic chores.

Gender Role Characteristics, opportunities Woman have the capacity to

and expectancies that society procreate, men do not.
assigns to each person and that
they assume as proper based on
their sex. It’s a social
construction that varies from
one social group to another and
from one epoch to another.

Discrimination Principle that men and woman Woman of Kuwait do not have
do not have equal access and the right to vote.
control of the goods and
opportunities of society, with
the finality of both of them not
participating equally in the
decision making process in
every aspect of public and
private life.
 Gender Equality Roles and functions socially Boys and girls receive courses
assigned to both men and of house chores and how to
woman. The gender roles, as a take care of babies.
character of a social product,
are learned and show variations
in time and space.

Co-education Distinction, exclusion, or Women are not capable of

preferences which results in
nullifying the exercise, in equal
terms, of human rights and
liberties that are fundamental
in all aspects of life.
taking important decisions
because they are, by nature,
more emotional than rational.

Chauvinism Behavior of devaluation John laughs at Pedro because

towards women. It is
characterized by the emphasis
in the virility, the force and the
disinterest regarding domestic
matters on behalf of men.
he said that he was in charge of
making the dishes and cleaning
his house.

Sexism Method of educational Until the end of the 80’s,

intervention, based on the
recognition of the potentials
and individualities of girls and
boys that seek to obtain a
social not conflicting and
common construction.
married women in Chile had to
ask authorization from their
husbands to work, by law they
had to follow them and could
not administer the money they
earned. This situation has
changed.

b. Words that Hurt

The objective of this activity is to develop strategies to avoid sexist language.

1. Identify sexist terms:

• First write the word ‘men’ on the board. Locate as many definitions of men as possible.

Use books, dictionaries, Internet and experience.

 • Write the word ‘women’ on the board and continue with the same procedure meeting

with synonyms.

• After the two lists have been compiled, record suggested words in two columns:

acceptable and sexist. Some debates may arise about a word, and this is good because the

discussion with arguments generates awareness and allows us to learn.

2. Discuss the sexist nature of the collected words:

• Look at the words deemed sexist and how they relate to women.

These words may include terms such as: baby girl, baby, beautiful, loving, sweet, chick,

bitch, rat, cat, snake, etc.

• Grouping words into categories. You will notice that the first five words are childish,

while the last two are related to animals. This observation begs to question who wants to be

described in terms of an infant or animal. Another potential question could be: are there male

equivalents for these categories? Why? Why not? The big question, of course, is why women are

called with these names? And who calls them that?

If the easy word is a negative adjective for women, it is an opportunity to discuss the

double standard. Formulate many equivalents as it can be possible, for both women and men.

One possible suggestion can be “noviera”, womanizer, etc. Discuss what term has negative

connotations or positive for each gender. Finally discuss the following: how the same word may

have different connotations for each gender?

3. Examine the socially correct language:

• Write on the board the terms: masculine, feminine and neutral.

• Name examples of animals, people and occupations, and place them within the

corresponding column.
 • Write a list of occupations on the board. Justify placing words such as: nurse, doctor,

teacher, stylist, police officer, welder, waiter, waiter, maid, tailor, chef, soldier, etc.

• Discuss the premise of "socially correct", how language can be used to promote or

inhibit respect.

• Discuss the use of the terms: Mrs. and Miss. What connotations do they have? Can they

be used to offend? Is there an equivalent for men? Why not? Do these terms correspond to the

double standards of our culture?

4. Propose strategies to avoid sexist language:

• Write a composition about your experiences with sexist language, in all its forms: as a

user and / or recipient. This paper can help synthesize thoughts on the subject and action. Making

public these narratives may show personal feelings upon hearing those words.

• Work in small teams to write an anti-sexist manifesto. Present it to others for discussion

and ratification. This document could be used to formulate a code of language in the classroom.

IV. Conclusion

Bullying has been defined as an unwanted aggressive behavior that implies an imbalance

in real and perceived power. This conduct that has been widely studied and several researchers

have found a profound correlation between bullying and the LGBTTIQ community since the early

stages of elementary school. We have seen too many fatal cases that could have prevented if there

were strong educational strategies or if the corresponding authorities would have intervened on

time. Members from the LGBTTIQ community such as the young activist Jorge Steven have also

been victims of brutal violent crimes. This 19 year old teenager was slaughtered and dismembered

as a result of homophobic ideals.

 Similarly, the statistics regarding domestic violence towards women in Puerto Rico should

result alarming. Up to November 2013, 18 women have been killed and hundreds have been

injured in Puerto Rico as a result of violent encounters with their partners. The most recent victim

of gender violence has been Ivonne Negrón Cintrón, a woman that was killed after rejecting the

courtship of her neighbor. What it is particularly bizarre about this case is that after it occurred,

the media appeared to justify the killer and blame the victim responsible for her own death. The

fact that there still are newspapers that generate such misleading headlines is an indicator that there

is still so much more to educate in terms of women’s rights and gender perspective. Unfortunately,

media has been our primary source of information since at the moment of this publication the

website of the Office of the Procurator of Women of Puerto Rico lacks the current statistics of

domestic violence to the general public. This being said, there could be even more cases of

violence against women than we know of.

The increasing numbers in bullying and domestic violence cases evidence the poor

education in respect of gender perspectives and gender roles in the Puerto Rican society. It is

fundamental that we develop public policies to address the bullying issue since the early stages in

order to avoid further social issues such as violent crimes.

In the previous pages, we proposed a bill that grants the Department of Education of Puerto

Rico the necessary funds to offer teachers a course of no less than 20 hours of advanced education

on violence prevention and gender perspective with a focus on different gender roles, identities

and social constructions. After the completion of this course, the teacher would receive a

Certificate of Advanced Education on Gender Studies.

 The proposed workshops that are to be provided by the Department of Education will have

the objective of studying and questioning the culturally imposed roles and attitudes that continue

to degrade women. Also, the curriculum will promote inclusive language and encourage equal

access to activities and professions that have been traditionally limited to one sex or the other.

It is only by education that we can get citizens to recognize the importance of gender

equality in daily life in both personal and social levels. If we successfully address the gender issue

through the means of education, there are many other social issues such as violence, crime and

differences in opportunities among sexes that will eventually be solved. The bill that we are

proposing is written after a well thought process that values the power of education. We expect

it to be thoroughly considered and eventually implemented with the purpose of becoming part of

the stepping stones that will trigger the enormous change in gender perspective that Puerto Rico

desperately needs.
Notes

1. Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, sec. 5 art. II.

2. Suarez, Gonzalez & Pedrosa “Bullying in Puerto Rico: A Descriptive Study” Parenting
Resources LLC (2013)

3. Puerto Rico Stop Bullying Association, http://www.prstopbullying.org/ (2010)

4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, http://www.cdc.gov/ (accessed November 30,
2013).

5. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, P.S. 238, Session 2013-2016

6. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, P.C. 1424, Session 2013-2016

7. American Civil Liberties Union “Island of Impunity: Puerto Rico’s Outlaw Police
Force” (2012)

8. González & Anais “Manual de equidad de género para docentes de educación primaria”
Instituto Estatal de Mujeres de Nuevo León (2008)

9. Guerrero, Hurtado, Azua, Provoste “Material de apoyo de perspectiva de género para

formadores y formadoras” Ministerio de Educación de Chile.

10. Guerrero, Hurtado, Azua, Provoste “Sobre las imágenes de género” Material de apoyo
de perspectiva de género para formadores y formadoras.