PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) — The National Defense Network for Human Rights (RNDDH) is calling on the Haitian government to investigate reports of school children being involved in pornographic videos posted on the internet.

In an open letter to Education Minister Jean Beauvois Dorsonne, the human rights group described the situation as a serious moral problem within the Haitian education system.

It said that in the past students had been taught to respect their school uniforms and refrain from such activities since this “could embarrass their school, their parents, peers and teachers.

“But, what formerly were not allowed outside of schools happens today in the same school grounds or worse, in the classroom. Indeed, for some time, pornographic videos circulating on social networks…show Haitian students in uniforms who engage in sexual acts while they are surrounded by their classmates”.

The RNDDH gave the example of two videos on the internet “to prove the seriousness of the case.

“RNDDH considers that such acts could be posted because of the lack of supervision in some educational institutions run by people who have neither the competence nor the morality to train and educate young people.

“These two videos are only a tiny part of the problem,” the group warned, noting that students in school uniforms also frequent bars and clubs.

The RNDDH said it was urging the Ministry of National Education, to “intervene immediately…to put an end to these unacceptable and immoral scenes and also recommends the involvement of the police and judicial institutions in the control of bars and clubs that accept children in uniform, in hours or after school hours”.