Finland Times

The Equality Ombudsman on Monday vowed to introduce tight punitive measures against sexual abuse in junior high schools, high schools and vocational training centres.

Speaking at a press conference in Helsinki on sexual harassment at educational institutes and training centres, Ombudsman Pirkko Mäkinen said the government should show zero tolerance against sexual harassment.

She was referring to the report of the School Health Survey carried out by the Health and Welfare Department in 2013 which showed nearly half of the secondary school-aged boys and more than 60 per cent of girls of the same age had experienced sexual harassment.

The ombudsman came up a teaching material for schools on young people’s perspective of sexual harassment. Mäkinen said the aim of the teaching material is to strengthen the culture against harassment and to introduce common and clear rules on how to deal with harassment.

She said, “Workplace sexual harassment is taken seriously already. Children and young people also need zero tolerance.”