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Post by lark descending on Jan 9, 2010 9:34:34 GMT
A Dutch court on Wednesday rejected a compensation claim by a woman who sued her former school for allegedly failing to stop her from becoming a prostitute.
Maria Mosterd claimed her school should have done more to prevent pimps preying on her and told her mother about her repeated truancy.
The 20-year-old wrote a book about her experiences, claiming pimps took her from school in the eastern city of Zwolle and put her to work as a prostitute.
She and her mother say they went to court to highlight the problem of pimps, known in the Netherlands as "lover boys" who befriend and exploit young girls.
"This happens at many schools, and nobody takes responsibility for it," Miss Mosterd's mother, Lucie Mosterd, told the Associated Press in a telephone interview. "We hoped we would win to make the point that this is going on at schools."
Zwolle District Court rejected Miss Mosterd's compensation claim, saying the school tried unsuccessfully to contact her mother and called in a truancy officer.
The court ruling also said that parents, not schools, are primarily responsible for their children's well-being.
Lucie Mosterd said she agreed that parents have the most responsibility for their children. "But how can I take responsibility for her truancy if I do not know about it?"
The family is considering appealing.
Miss Mosterd's former school, the Thorbecke School, could not immediately be reached for comment. The school's website says it pays special attention to the danger of pimps and discusses the issue with students.
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Post by Jade on Jan 9, 2010 12:40:42 GMT
if more UK kids sued their education providers for doing a crap job I reckkon schooling would improve a lot.
especially universities who allocate lottery tickets for popular lectures - a law student I know hardly got any input from the staff
On a different note - haven't we got a similar problem with men preying on young girls who are "at risk of disaffection" ? Pareticualrly asian men butt hat might have been the prejudice of my news source
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Post by lark descending on Jan 9, 2010 13:05:07 GMT
I'm not sure she should have won compensation, but I admire her for having the guts to highlight the problem, given that the world now knows what she did as a teenager.
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aubrey
WH Member
Seeker for Truth and Penitence
Posts: 665
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Post by aubrey on Jan 10, 2010 20:28:29 GMT
One of the things that may give her problems is the attitude that thinks she has done something immoral. This is an attitude that makes it difficult for all sex workers (though she was different in not being a sex worker), whether in prostitution or pornography, to leave when they've had enough. I think it would probably be better in Holland than here or the US, where Govt employees have been sacked when a porn film was discovered in their past. These are people who hate porn and prostitution, but seemingly do not want people to leave.
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Post by Jade on Jan 11, 2010 8:45:42 GMT
Bloody good point, Aubrey
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Post by lark descending on Jan 11, 2010 9:46:02 GMT
One of the things that may give her problems is the attitude that thinks she has done something immoral. This is an attitude that makes it difficult for all sex workers (though she was different in not being a sex worker), whether in prostitution or pornography, to leave when they've had enough. I think it would probably be better in Holland than here or the US, where Govt employees have been sacked when a porn film was discovered in their past. These are people who hate porn and prostitution, but seemingly do not want people to leave. Plenty of people who think prostitution is wrong will understandably have difficulty separating those who sell it (workers as well as pimps) from those who use it. Smoking and drinking aren't immoral, but we ban young people from buying tobacco and alcohol and they, as well as the shopkeepers, are morally in the wrong IMO if they buy or use these drugs. In this case the girl truanted and must bear some responsibility for her actions; even a teenager should know better than to chat up strange men while skipping classes. So yes, she is brave to admit what she did; I cringe when I think of what I got up to in my youth (not that bad, but stuff I'd never tell even you lot about!). |
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Post by Jade on Jan 11, 2010 10:47:34 GMT
o go on
<weg>
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pippa
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Post by pippa on Jan 11, 2010 11:35:35 GMT
"The 20-year-old wrote a book about her experiences, claiming pimps took her from school in the eastern city of Zwolle and put her to work as a prostitute."
hang on, aren't we missing something here? she was groomed pmped and put on the game. it was not her own independent choice.
while i agree with your points about attitudes and shame towards sex workers , Aubrey, this is an entirely different situation . in this case the schoolgirl (as she most certainly was then) did NOT made an independent choice to go on the game. she was exploited and pimped while she should otherwise been in school. utterly shameful state of affairs as selling sex should always be a personal choice and certainly not one made by a schoolgirl who has been coersed (sp?) into it.
in this country truancy officers would surely have contacted the family to let them know the child was not in school. in which case responsibility would have lain with her family. in the article the mother claims she was unaware her child was truant therefore not in a position to have done anything about it.
while i personally would condone and positively support someone making an independent choice to go on the game, this is not the case here - or am i missing a vital point?
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Post by lark descending on Jan 11, 2010 11:58:25 GMT
Pippa - I don't know. I had thought that she was truanting from school on a regular basis and meeting up with these men from choice but if she was abducted it does paint a different picture! Perhaps we will have to buy her book!
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pippa
WH Member
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Post by pippa on Jan 11, 2010 12:05:14 GMT
Smoking and drinking aren't immoral, but we ban young people from buying tobacco and alcohol and they, as well as the shopkeepers, are morally in the wrong IMO if they buy or use these drugs. In this case the girl truanted and must bear some responsibility for her actions; even a teenager should know better than to chat up strange men while skipping classes. a little harsh i think as i dont see why she should have to bear any responsibility for being coerced into her actions. as adults some of us know how grooming can happen. but that she should be aware chatting to strange men would lead to her being pimped is putting undue responsibility on young shoulders. young flirty girls are not necessarily that savvy or necessarily know what dire consequences can result from their actions. |
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pippa
WH Member
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Post by pippa on Jan 11, 2010 12:13:22 GMT
Pippa - I don't know. I had thought that she was truanting from school on a regular basis and meeting up with these men from choice but if she was abducted it does paint a different picture! Perhaps we will have to buy her book! even if she was truanting on a regular basis, lark, and meeting fellas it doesn't necessarily mean she would have realised the consequences. on a personal level, i discovered upon moving to the uk at 15 and having been stiffled in a convent till then, how easy it was to truant so i simply stopped going to school at that age (yes it shows by my debating skills  ). however i met my boyfriend and we'd go off on his fishing boat checking crab pots - idyllic looking back - thankfully at that time i didn't meet up with dodgy pimps as i was green and naive and still am to a certain extent. |
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Post by lark descending on Jan 11, 2010 12:21:29 GMT
We do expect teenagers to obey the law; if they can be hauled up in court for riding their bikes without lights they can be taken to task for buying cigarettes, knowing it is illegal for a shopkeeper to sell them! Equally, this girl will have known that truancy was wrong, and I also think that if a 15 year old refuses to attend school they, rather than their parents, should take most of the rap. Most girls are aware that talking to strange men is dangerous; some will plead ignorance, but they are probably just relying on the supreme self-confidence that often seems to come with adolescence. I'm certainly not suggesting she should bear all the responsibility, just arguing that teenagers need to realise the consequences of their actions and not blame everyone else when things go wrong. I've just found this review of the book on what looks like someone's blog, but it seems she befriended this man aged about 12, and at that age she certainly would not have the same perspective of a girl three years her senior might be expected to have acquired! As the reviewer says, it raises a lot of questions. |
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Post by jean on Jan 11, 2010 12:33:16 GMT
if more UK kids sued their education providers for doing a crap job I reckkon schooling would improve a lot. I don't. The ones most likely to sue are the knowing little bastards who are all too ready to threaten their teachers with all kinds of negligence, and even abuse, in an attempt to cover up their own failings. |
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Post by jean on Jan 11, 2010 12:34:55 GMT
I also think that if a 15 year old refuses to attend school they, rather than their parents, should take most of the rap. But you do wonder why the mother took so little interest that she didn't notice that the girl was doing no schoolwork at all. |
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Post by lark descending on Jan 11, 2010 12:42:16 GMT
Yes, the mother's part in all this has to be questioned; it is a little rich that she is trying to blame the school! But it is almost impossible to force a strapping 15 year old through the school gates, still less ensure that s/he stays there! And the school has just as many problems constraining pupils from bunking off.
I spoke to a mother not so long ago who complained that school staff watched her son walk out, then phoned her and asked her to find him. Anecdotal, of course....
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). however i met my boyfriend and we'd go off on his fishing boat checking crab pots - idyllic looking back - thankfully at that time i didn't meet up with dodgy pimps as i was green and naive and still am to a certain extent.