Haileybury rocked by sexual harassment, misogyny claims
Haileybury is the latest elite school to be rocked by claims of sexual harassment, with a Year 11 student providing a scathing assessment of its culture.
Education
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Prestigious Haileybury College has been blindsided after a Year 11 student took to social media to call out what she claims is a culture of the misogyny and sexual harassment at the top ranking private school.
“The abuse of women has been greatly normalised in this school,” she claimed.
“Sexual harassment is more common than the teachers could possibly understand, men completely believe that they are entitled to objectify us and our bodies.”
The girl, 15, sent the scathing letter to the school and then shared it on social media. Up until Wednesday night its had garnered more than a thousand likes and comments and had been widely shared, receiving mostly positive support.
She said boys were protected because “boys will be boys” and girls calling them out were dubbed “feminazis” and “bitches”.
“The boys at this elite private school consistently fail to speak up. They refuse to act on their friends’ horrible actions, they are too afraid to provide consequences or explanations.”
She said girls at the school didn’t initially realise some of the behaviours were sexual assault and harassment.
“We are forced to walk the halls with rapists, sexual assaulters and misogynists. You have done nothing to shield us. You have left us to fend for ourselves in a world that is already built against us,” she wrote in the bombshell letter.
“I cannot explain how horribly sobering it is to have this revelation.”
On Wednesday, after receiving the letter, the shocked school spoke to the girl and her peers at length to plan for cultural change.
On Thursday principal Derek Scott sent a letter to families saying he was “deeply saddened” by the confronting letter and would work with female and male students.
“It reflected poorly on our school, and at times, our lack of knowledge and action. It also mirrored the experiences that are currently being voiced by women across the country,” he said.
“The kind of behaviour highlighted in her letter is not reflective of the values Haileybury strives to uphold and instil in its students. We want a culture where all students feel safe and empowered.”
While the school undertakes consent and respectful relationship programs it would review them.
“I am also making it a priority to meet with and work with our male student leaders so that they are part of the process of ensuring a culture of respect for all,” he said.
“I am pleased that the students I met with yesterday want their voice to be a part of this. Their voices have been heard and they will help influence the changes that are required.”
The girl said in an updated social media post that after the meeting the students felt they had a good hearing.
“I am truly grateful for their efforts and hope that a real difference can eventually be made,” she said.
Haileybury is one of Melbourne’s most successful schools with campuses in the city, Brghton, Berwick, Keysborough, Darwin and China.
It operates a parallel education model where girls and boys are separated from Year 4 and come together for some activities on the one campus.
It is one of the higher achieving VCE schools. Fees range from $20,000 in prep to $35,000 in Year 12.
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