Homophobic attack on a teacher in Andratx: some students create a space on Classroom with insults and sexual content

PalmThe faculty of IES Baltasar Porcel in Andratx has expressed its "strongest rejection" and "deep indignation" in response to a homophobic attack on a teacher at the school. The assault involved the creation of a fake Google Classroom account by 4th year ESO students — with the collaboration of students from CC Ramon Llull — from which demeaning images and comments targeting the teacher were disseminated. Among the published content were sexually explicit photographs — such as images of genitals and sex toys — as well as insults and messages with direct references to the teacher's name that attacked his personal dignity.

The events became known on a Wednesday. That same afternoon, the director of the center filed a complaint with the Civil Guard. The following day, Thursday, an emergency faculty meeting was convened and the affected teacher also formalized his own complaint upon arriving at the center. Currently, the center maintains an open investigation to clarify the identity of those allegedly responsible, of whom there are already several suspects. According to sources from the center, while the faculty was being photographed to express support for the assaulted colleague, some of the suspected students were mocking the situation.

In a manifesto that has been accessed, the center's faculty denounces that this episode is not an isolated case, but rather part of a dynamic that is repeated day after day, with disrespect and verbal aggression towards teachers. In this regard, they point out that for some time they have suffered insults, threats, and displays of contempt that have become a "too common" reality. This situation, they warn, evidences a "worrying" normalization of violence and disrespect within the educational environment.

Hate crimes, on the rise

Likewise, they emphasize that the events not only affect the assaulted teacher but also have a collective impact. “It is not just an individual attack”, they point out, but rather that discriminatory behaviors —such as homophobia, racism, or sexism— “directly harm people's dignity and erode the basic principles of coexistence”.

However, the teaching staff warns that this is a problem that goes beyond a single center and is reproduced in other educational and social spaces. Therefore, they consider that isolated condemnations are not enough and call for a “real and sustained social awareness”.

For all these reasons, the faculty has demanded a “clear, decisive, and effective” response from institutions to protect victims and act firmly against any discrimination, while also expressing support and solidarity with the affected teacher. “What a colleague suffers can affect any of us or any student”, they warn, insisting that coexistence and respect must be non-negotiable pillars inside and outside the classrooms.

The Department of Educational Inspection of the Ministry of Education and Universities is already aware of the situation and has activated the corresponding protocols. This Monday, an inspector has already gone to the educational center to assess the situation.

"Seed of hate"

The STEI union has expressed its support for the affected teacher and the educational community of the IES Baltasar Porcel de Andratx in the face of events it considers part of a “very worrying dynamic of contempt for diversity and sexual orientations”.

The organization has described as “inadmissible” that teachers have to carry out their work in an environment where hate crimes occur recurrently and where situations of violence are normalized.

In this regard, the union has denounced the “seed of hatred” that, it claims, the far-right is sowing, and has given as an example recent videos recorded in front of educational centers that promote rejection of people with diverse sexual orientations. According to the STEI, this is a phenomenon that goes beyond the school environment and extends to other areas of society.

Finally, the union has called for teachers to be able to work in an environment of respect and recognition of their work, and has demanded –as the school's faculty has already done– a “clear and effective” response from institutions. It has also warned that these types of attacks on coexistence and personal choices cannot go unpunished.