Female students punished for ‘distracting’ male teachers

Victorian schoolgirls are copping detention because their short skirts are “distracting to male staff and students”, with female teachers also told to cover up.

‘Sexist’ school uniform policies have come under fire after girls were told their short skirts made male teachers uncomfortable. Picture: iStock

Victorian schools are discriminating against female students and staff by telling them their clothing is “distracting” male teachers, the Herald Sun can reveal.

A current fashion for short skirts in both private and public schools has led to female students receiving a record number of detentions and being subjected to skirt-length checks.

It comes as many schools continue to have different dress codes for male and female students, with many stipulating skirt lengths for the girls, but not short lengths for the boys.

Those applying different uniform rules to boys and girls could be treating them unlawfully, the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission has confirmed.

Students at two state high schools – Canterbury Girls’ Secondary College and Balwyn High School – have been told their short dresses were a distraction for the male staff and made them uncomfortable.

A female preservice teacher at an exclusive private school in Brighton was also driven to tears after being told to cover up by a senior female teacher following reports several male students had made sexual comments about her outfit.

“It was extremely frustrating because the boys in the class were not spoken to, but I was warned against wearing inappropriate suit pants,” she told the Herald Sun.

“I felt extremely uncomfortable for the rest of the day and the rest of my placement experience.

“As a future educator, it is extremely disheartening to see this sexism, especially from other female teachers,” she said.

The year 11 student at Balwyn High School said she was pulled out of class and given a detention over the length of her skirt.

“I was told the reasoning was because it’s ‘distracting to the male staff and students’. Then when mum had something to say about it, they told her, ‘I can assure you that was never said’.”

A year 11 Balwyn High School student was pulled out of class and given a detention over the length of her skirt.

The student said winter skirt hems are being “flipped up by teachers to check if they’ve been altered or not” and jumpers are lifted to check skirts are not being rolled up.

“They don’t treat the boys like that,” she said.

Unlike many schools, Balwyn High’s uniform policy is gender neutral and states that “Skirts/dresses/shorts must be worn no more than 5cm above the knee”.

However it also stipulates that: “The waistband of the skirt/dress must not be folded up”.

Another student at Canterbury Girls’ Secondary College was told by a relief teacher that her short skirt was distracting to the male teachers and made them uncomfortable.

“I told them they shouldn’t be looking but I still got detention,” the student said.

Balwyn High School’s uniform policy states that ‘skirts/dresses/shorts must be worn no more than 5cm above the knee’.

This is despite a recent move towards gender-neutral uniform pieces.

Epping Secondary College uniform policy states that skirts must be “no more than 5cms above the knee” and that students with “short skirts or rolled-up skirts will receive a consequence”.

There is no mention of boys’ shorts being a certain length.

At Highview College, girls are told their skirts and dresses must be “just above the knee” but there is no similar stipulation for shorts worn by boys.

At Chairo Christian College the rules note that: “The length of all skirts and dresses must be no shorter than the horizontal crease in the back of the knee when standing in an upright position without wearing a jumper”.

There is no mention of the length of boys’ shorts.

School dress codes often target clothing worn by girls when stipulating rules for casual clothes days.

Cranbourne West Secondary College, for example, bans see-through tops, boob-tube tops, open toe shoes and miniskirts. The only rule that applies to boys as well includes rude or offensive prints on clothing.

Similarly, Oakleigh Grammar staff dress code mentions that “necklines must be modest and shoestring straps are unacceptable” but there is no mention of the need for male staff to be modest.

A spokesman for the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission said schools were prohibited from discriminating against students on the basis of personal characteristics including sex and gender identity under the Equal Opportunity Act.

“The Act also contains an exception within it that allows schools to “set and enforce reasonable standards of dress.” The exception emphasises that standards must be reasonable, and that the school should take into account the views of the school community when setting those standards,” he said.

“A uniform policy that has different requirements for boys and girls could be unlawful, particularly if the requirements are found to be unreasonable and not reflective of the views within the school community,” he said.

“We’d encourage any parents, teachers or students who have concerns about a uniform policy to contact us to discuss the specifics of their situation and whether it may be discrimination.”

David Kernohan, director of Youth Legal Service, said care needs to be taken “that girls are not discriminated against”.

“There is an old view that somehow girls are the responsibility for the moral behaviour of men when obviously men need to take responsibility for their own moral behaviour”.

A Canterbury Girls Secondary College student was told that her short skirt was distracting to the male teachers.

He said the issue wasn’t just about girls and boys, but also about “how trans children or LGBTIQ students may choose to dress in ways that are authentic to themselves”.

“We understand some schools may want to enforce certain dress codes but what is the purpose? Is it to teach children about responsibility or is it just reinforcing conformity?” he said.

“Perhaps schools should choose their battles and concentrate on issues that do matter, like consent, coercion and drug use rather than skirt length,” Mr Kernohan said.

Professor Daryl Higgins, director of the Institute of Child Protection Studies at the Australian Catholic University, said such policies “send a message about how to perform masculinity and femininity”.

“Telling girls their skirts are distracting to males suggests that male have uncontrollable sexual desires which are not their responsibility and that it’s up to the females to control them,” he said.

“This is a very problematic message which is also very heteronormative and shows the gender stereotyping of staff and students,” he said.

A spokesman for the Department of Education on behalf of Canterbury Girls’ and Balwyn High said school uniform policies for government schools are determined by school councils.

“They must be consistent with department policies and developed in consultation with school communities,”.

Originally published as Female students punished for ‘distracting’ male teachers