HUNDREDS of students took to Malaga’s streets this week to protest against school bullying as part of a nationwide strike sparked by a Sevilla schoolgirl’s suicide.
The protest follows the death of Sandra Peña, a Sevilla schoolgirl who recently took her own life after being bullied.
Malaga’s mass demonstration began at Plaza de la Constitucion and grew as it moved through the city with students of all ages expressing solidarity with Peña’s family and demanding that urgent antibullying measures are implemented.
READ MORE: Outrage in Sevilla after schoolgirl’s suicide sparks targeting of alleged bullies
Organised by the Sindicato de Estudiantes (students’ union), the march urged the management team at Peña’s school, Irlandesas de Loreto, to resign with immediate effect, and demanded that the institution has all of its public funding pulled.
Irlandesas de Loreto failed to activate the relevant anti-bullying protocols when Peña informed staff of the bullying she endured, which demonstrators say contributed to Peña’s death.
Beyond these school specific requests, the Sindicato de Estudiantes (student union) is requesting that thousands of psychologists and psychiatrists are recruited to schools, colleges and universities.
The protest was called by this union who urged all secondary school students to skip school and march against bullying – the official strike gave students the right to skip school without it being considered as truancy or misconduct by institutions.
This applied for those in the third year of compulsory secondary education and above whilst those younger were also allowed to skip class as long as they provided authorisation from a parent or guardian.
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Similar strikes also occurred in Madrid, Bilbao, Oviedo and Gijon.
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