Growing list of social and political influencers backing Adelaide High girls’ sex harassment protest

The students behind an Adelaide High sex harassment protest have won high praise from leaders and activists around Australia ready to back their fight.

Adelaide High School students who walked out of class this month to denounce schoolyard sexism have inspired a national protest planned for later this year and have attracted the backing of high-profile female politicians.

MPs have praised the teen girls for their bravery and courage.

They have backed the students’ cause to bring about sex education reform to tackle sexual harassment and abuse at school.

Boothby MP Nicolle Flint praised the “brave young women” for calling out “the appalling and unacceptable sexist treatment they have been subjected to by male students”.

“They have been honest and articulate, and they have supported each other,” she said.

Adelaide High School students Rira, Sophia and Martha, are part of the school’s Call4Action group helping co-ordinate the national walk out. Picture: Tom Huntley

“They were bound together by their anger at being reduced to ‘girls’ who are continually subjected to sexist and derogatory actions by ‘boys’.”

South Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, who met some of the schoolgirls last week, said: “Speaking out takes courage, and these young women are to be commended for breaking the silence on sexual harassment and disrespect, and taking a stand for better sex and consent education in our schools.”

Senator Hanson-Young said Australia was in the “midst of a cultural reckoning”, led by the likes of Brittany Higgins, who alleges she was raped in a federal ministerial office, Australian of the Year and sexual assault survivor Grace Tame, activist Chanel Contos and now Adelaide High students.

“Their strength in calling this behaviour out is helping so many others and will help drive policy and law changes,” she said.

Both politicians have highlighted a sexist and misogynistic culture in parliament, and online harassment and victim-shaming targeted at female politicians.

A core group of senior Adelaide High students are involved with Teach Us Consent campaigner Ms Contos in planning an Australia-wide walkout later in the year

They are also helping run a separate national walkout at lunchtime on June 24, overseen by a national youth anti-sexual violence group.

Ms Contos is the former Sydney schoolgirl whose 20,000-signature petition for sex education reform this month will result in the NSW parliament debating whether slut shaming, sexual coercion, toxic masculinity and rape culture should be addressed in that state’s curriculum.

Chanel Contos in London. Picture: Hollie Adams.

Speaking from London, where she is studying, the 23-year-old said the Adelaide High students had been “brave and amazing and inspiring”.

She said she reached out to the female students who organised the June 1 walkout and had since begun working with them on plans for a national walkout campaign in coming months.

Ms Contos said that in addition to school students, the walkout would include universities, workplaces and grassroots organisations to highlight sex discrimination in Australia and the urgent need for real change.

“We know how to make Australia more equitable and a safer place for women,” she said.

“The people in power are just ignoring these solutions due to personal biases.”

Year 12 Adelaide High student Rira said the students were excited to be working with Ms Contos.

She said students wanted mandatory Australia-wide sexual consent education, legal and economic support for survivors of sex-related crime and abuse, better funding for women’s services and “sexist politicians out of parliament”.

Urgent call for sex ed reform in schools

Adelaide High School girls are lobbying state and federal politicians for statewide sex education reform after being overwhelmedby testimonials of harassment and verbal and online abuse from schoolkids across SA.

In a letter penned to MPs, Adelaide High’s Call4Action group of several female senior students say the impact of sexual violence end coercion is bigger than one school.

The group’s online petition – “Call to End Sexism and Sexual Assault at Adelaide High School” – has attracted 7000 signatures in two weeks.

Year 12 student Rira, 17, said girls from private and public schools have reached out saying they and their LGBTQ peers have experienced sexist verbal, online and physical harassment and abuse and that very little, if nothing, exists to support them.

“We see the immediate real life implications of insufficient sexual violence education … and we urgently need your help to change this in all schools – public, private and Catholic,” say the students in the letter delivered to MPs, including Premier Steven Marshall and Education Minister John Gardner.

“The (current sex education) content usually does not apply to contemporary issues – for example the normalisation of pornography, followed closely by nude image sharing, is never or very briefly discussed,” they say in the letter.

Adelaide High School students on June 1 walked out of calls protesting against sexual harassment in their school. Picture: Rebecca DiGirolamo

The students say the merger of physical education and wellbeing education has meant sex education is often neglected or ignored in place of sport activities and that most teachers have little or no idea how to deal with sexual violence in their schools, nor educate against it.

Earlier this month, the Adelaide High group led a school walkout of about 100 classmates demanding school leadership apologise and address ongoing verbal and online sexual harassment and abuse on campus. They are also involved in the planning two national walkouts – one on June 24 and another in coming months.

They are due to meet with Labor MLC Irene Pnevmatikos, who said decision makers in education should be heeding the call of students asking for change.

Adelaide High School says its working with students on an awareness raising campaign, based on the SHINE SA program and is arranging a meeting with the Call4Action students.

It says its developing practical avenues for positive change through student engagement including a student forum to help shape the school’s delivery of the Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum.

Education Minister John Gardner said the government was modernising education on sex, consent and respectful relationships to reflect the needs of young people.

He said the department was helping review the Australian Curriculum, due to be updated in line with expert advice, and continued to provide schools with support on implementing the curriculum, access to teacher training, social work support and incident management.