A school staff member was seen wearing her mask… while the girl was bruised and battered. Where were the adults?
She was 10 years old, diagnosed with ASD, and wearing a cat costume authorized by the school. It was the last day of the semester at Instituto Claret in Temuco, Chile, on June 18, 2026, and all she wanted was to celebrate with her classmates. 🐱
What happened during that recess was recounted by her mother, Daniela Retamal: between 50 and more than 100 students surrounded the girl, pushed her, pulled her hair, and shouted “she’s a therian!” as if that justified anything.
The girl managed to run away until she found a hall monitor. She ended up bruised and battered, without timely medical attention and without any psychological support.
But the detail that hurts the most: when Daniela arrived at the school to pick up her daughter, she saw a staff member from the institution wearing the girl’s mask. “To us, it was mockery”, she said. 😔
Instituto Claret activated protocols and stated that its audiovisual records do not show physical violence. The family filed complaints with the Superintendency of Education and the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and is considering not returning to the school. The psychological harm, Daniela says, is “terrible”. The formal investigation will only begin after the winter break. ⚖️